Columbia  53niDers:itp 


LIBRARY 


THE   LIFE 


OF 


WILLIAM    ROSCOE, 


BY   HIS   SON 


HENRY    ROSCOE/ A' 


IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 4  t?; 


VOL.   I. 


BOSTON: 

RUSSELL,  ODIORNE,  AND  COMPANY. 

1833. 


CAMBRIDGE: 
CHARLES    FOLSOM,    PRINTER    TO    THE    UNIVERSITY. 


PREFACE. 


In  preparing  the  following  volumes  for  the  press,  it 
has  been  the  object  of  the  writer,  not  merely  to  detail 
the  incidents  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  hfe,  but  to  present  an 
enlarged  view  of  his  opinions  upon  the  many  important 
subjects  in  which  he  interested  himself.  In  the  per- 
formance of  this  labour,  Mr.  Roscoe's  extensive  cor- 
respondence has  been  resorted  to  as  the  principal  source 
of  information ;  and,  whenever  it  has  been  possible,  the 
personal  narrative  of  his  hfe,  and  the  expression  of  his 
opinions,  have  been  given  in  his  own  words ;  and  thus 
a  much  more  accurate  and  spirited  picture  of  both  has 
been  presented,  than  if  the  writer  had  attempted  to 
embody  them  in  language  of  his  own.  The  size  of  the 
work  is  perhaps  increased  by  the  plan  thus  adopted, 
but  that  circumstance  will  be  found  amply  compensated 
by  the  interest  and  authenticity  imparted  to  the  narra- 
tive. It  is  a  satisfaction  to  the  writer  to  know,  that 
Mr.  Roscoe's  own  opinion  was  in  favour  of  thus  deriving 
the  history  of  an  author's  life  from  his  writings.* 

*  See  the  Preface  to  the  Life  of  Pope,  p.  xxi. 


IT  PREFACE. 

In  making  use  of  the  valuable  and  copious  corre- 
spondence Avliich  ]Mr.  Roscoe  left,  the  writer  has  been 
careful  to  select  such  parts  only  as  relate  to  the  per- 
sonal history  of  the  subject  of  the  jMenioir,  or  contain 
tlie  expression  of  his  own  sentiments,  and  has  scrupu- 
lously avoided  the  insertion  of  other  topics. 

An  apology  may,  perhaps,  be  thought  by  some  to 
be  necessary  for  the  publication  of  the  life  of  a  father 
by  his  son.  The  writer  can  only  allege  in  excuse  of 
his  attempt,  that  a  strong  feeling  of  duty  prompted  him 
to  the  task.  He  felt  that  the  example  of  ]\Ir.  Roscoe's 
life  ought  not  to  be  lost  to  the  w^orld ;  and  he  persuaded 
himself  that  one  who  had  long  enjoyed  the  privilege  of 
studying  his  character  through  many  of  the  changes  of 
Ills  eventful  life,  and  to  whom  his  mind  and  heart  were 
ever  open  in  the  confidence  of  domestic  intercourse, — 
one  who  had  felt  the  beauty  of  his  character,  and  had 
been  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the 
principles,  by  the  operation  of  which  that  character 
was  formed,  —  could  not  be  considered  as  altODjether 
an  unfit  person  to  give  to  the  public  the  narrative  of 
his  life. 

The  writer  is  well  aware  how  delicate  is  the  task 
which  he  has  undertaken,  and  how  open  he  must  be 
to  the  observation,  that  his  partiality  has   induced   him 


PREFACE.  V 

unduly  to  extol  the  character  of  Mr.  Roscoe.  He  does 
not  profess  to  be  free  from  the  feelings  which  might 
lead  to  such  representations  ;  but  he  has  scrupulously 
endeavoured  to  subdue  them,  and  has  upon  every  oc- 
casion, where  the  merits  of  Mr.  Roscoe  have  come  in 
question,  relied  upon  the  opinions  of  others,  where  such 
opinions  have  been  expressed. 

In  the  concluding  chapter  he  has  indeed  ventured, 
after  much  hesitation,  to  present  a  connected  view  of 
Mr,  Roscoe's  character,  and  upon  this  portion  of  his 
labours  he  looks  with  much  distrust.  He  feels,  how- 
ever, reassured  by  the  reflection,  that  in  performing 
this  difficult  and  painful  task  he  has  not  been  misled 
by  any  vain  idea  of  adding  to  the  personal  fame  of 
Mr.  Roscoe,  but  has  only  been  actuated  by  a  desire  to 
point  out,  for  the  benefit  of  others,  the  result  of  those 
great  principles,  by  which  his  life  was  governed.  If, 
in  making  this  attempt,  he  has  been  betrayed  into 
exaggerated  representations,  the  candour  of  the  public 
will,  it  is  hoped,  overlook  the  offence. 

Respecting  the  success  of  the  work,  so  far  as  his 
own  labours  are  concerned,  the  writer  feels  no  anxiety. 
His  duty,  with  the  exception  above  mentioned,  has 
been  little  more  than  that  of  placing  in  order  the  valu- 
able materials  which  came  to  his  hands.     But  he  does 

a* 


VI  PREFACE. 

kel  anxious,  that  a  work,  containing  the  opinions  and 
dehneating  the  character  of  one  whose  great  object  was 
to  ad\ance  the  happiness  and  the  improvement  of 
mankind,  should  not  fail  to  produce  those  beneficial 
effects,  which  the  principles  it  developes  are  so  well- 
calculated  to  ensure. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 
1753  — 178L 

Family  of  Mr.  Roscoe — his  birth  —  loses  his  mother  at  an  early 
age  —  his  own  narrative  of  his  childhood  —  his  reluctance  to  the 
discipline  of  a  school  —  qaits  school  at  twelve  years  of  acre  — 
assists  his  father  in  gardening  —  is  placed  with  a  bookseller  — 
articled  to  an  attorney  —  his  attachment  to  reading  and  to  poetry 

—  imitations  of  Shenstone  —  attention  to  hi-s  profession  — his  early 
friends.  —  Memoir  of  Francis  Holden  —  Robert  Rigby  —  Miss 
Done. —  Causes  which  led  to  the  formation  of  Mr.  Roscoe's 
poetical  character —  his  early  poems.  —  Ode  on  the  formation  of  a 
society  for  encouraging  the  arts  of  design,  &c.  —  Mount  Pleasant. 

—  Letter  from  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  —  smaller  poems  —  other 
studies  —  "  Christian  Morality." 1 


CHAPTER  11. 

1781  —  1787. 

Is  admitted  an  attorney,  and  enters  into  partnership  at  Liverpool  — 
his  acquaintance  with  Miss  Jane  Griffies,  and  correspondence 
with  her  —  his  marriage  with  her  —  visits  London  —  his  taste  for 
collecting  prints  and  books  —  his  love  of  art.  —  "  Society  for  pro- 
moting Painting  and  Design  "  established  at  Liverpool  —  his  lec- 
tures there  —  his  first  acquaintance  with  Fuseli  —  writes  "  The 
Origin  of  Engraving,"  a  poem  —  reference  in  that  poem  to  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici  —  his  collection  of  prints  —  his  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Strutt,  author  of  the  "^  Dictionary  of  Engravers  "  —  his  con- 
tributions to  that  work  —  is  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Manchester 31 


Vm  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   III. 

1787  —  1792. 

Early  opinions  of  Mr.  Roscoe  on  the  subject  of  the  African  slave 
trade  —  his  allusion  to  it  in  the  poem  of  "  Mount  Pleasant."  — 
Publication  of''  The  Wrontrs  of  Africa  "  —  translated  into  German. 
—  Publication  of  the  "  General  View  of  the  African  Slave  Trade," 
his  pamphlet  in  answer  to  the  Rev.  Raymund  Harris.  —  Thanks 
of  the  Abolition  Committee.  —  Publication  of  the  "Inquiry  into 
the  Causes  of  the  Insurrection  of  the  Nejjroes  in  the  Island  of 
St.  Domingo." 54 

CHAPTER   IV. 

1788  —  1796. 

Motives  which  led  Mr.  Roscoe  to  take  a  part  in  politics.  —  Celebra- 
tion of  the  Revolution  of  1G88  —  song  on  that  occasion.  —  Com- 
mencement of  the  French  Revolution.  —  Publication  of  the  "  Ode 
to  the  People  of  France,"  "  Unfold,  Father  Time,"  "  O'er  the 
vine-cover'd  hills."  —  Progress  of  the  Revolution.  —  Execution 
of  the  J3rissotines.  —  Letter  to  Lord  Lansdowne.  —  Publication 
of  "Strictures  on  Mr.  Burke's  Two  Letters."  —  "The  Life, 
Death,  and  wonderful  Achievements  of  Edmund  Burke."  —  State 
of  parties  at  Liverpool  —  public  meeting  there.  —  Address  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Roscoe.  —  Singular  proceedings.  —  Publication  of 
"  Thoughts  on  the  Causes  of  the  present  Failures."  —  The  Lite- 
rary Society  —  forced  to  abandon  their  meetings.  —  Letter  to  Lord 

Lansdowne.  —  Sonnet    by    the    Rev.    W.   Shejjherd. V^isit    to 

London.  —  Domestic  correspondence. Count  Rantzau  —  cor- 
respondence with  him  and  with  the  Countess  Rantzau.—  Removal 
of  Mr.  Roscoe  from  the  town  of  Liverpool.  —  "Inscription."  — 
Removal  to  Birchfield 73 

CHAPTER   V. 

1795. 

First  idea  of  writinnr  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  —  want  of  ma- 
terials  —  assistanc(^  rendered  by  Mr.  William  Clarke  at  Florence  — 
progress  of  the  work  —  printing  of  the  inedited  poems  of  Lorenzo 


CONTENTS.  IX 

—  the  Life  sent  to  press.  —  Mr.  M'Creery.  —  Lord  Orford's  opin- 
ion.—  Letter  to  Lord  Lansdowne.  —  Publication  of  the  Life  — 
its  popularity.  —  Letters  from  Lord  Orford  and  Lord  Bristol.  — 
Opinions  on  the  work — Lord  Lansdowne,  Dr.  Aikin,  the  author 
of  the  *'  Pursuits  of  Literature"  —  correspondence  with  the  latter. 

—  Letters  from  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker  and  Fuseli.  —  Dr.  Parr's  criti- 
cisms, and  correspondence  with  him.  — Favourable  reception  from 
the  periodical  critics  —  review  by  Fuseli  in  the  Analytical  Review 

—  success  of  the  work  abroad  —  opinions  of  the  Italian  scholars 
Fabroni  and  Bandini  —  translation  into  Italian  by  the  Cav.  Me- 
cherini,  and  correspondence  with  him — criticism  of  the  Abate 
Andres  —  opinions  of  Morelli  and  Moreni  —  translation  into  Ger- 
man by  Sprengel  —  letter  to  him  —  translation  into  French  — 
republication  in  America 106 


CHAPTER   VI. 

1796  —  1799. 

Mr.  Roscoe,  dissatisfied  with  his  profession,  relinquishes  it.  —  Let- 
ters to  Mr.  Ralph  Eddowes  —  Mr.  Rathbone.  —  Visits  London  — 
becomes  a  member  of  Gray's  Inn.  —  Society  in  London.  —  Letters 
to  Dr.  Currie,  Mr.  Rathbone,  and  Mr.  Daulby.  —  Lord  Orford's 
death.  —  Sir  Isaac    Heard.  —  Washington's    genealogy.  —  Return 

to  Liverpool. Translates  the  "  Balia  "  of  L.  Tansillo. The 

Duchess  of  Devonshire.  —  Sonnet  to  Mrs.  Roscoe.  —  Letter  from 
Lord  Holland.  —  Dr.  Currie's  criticism.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Wright. 
—  Visit  to  Mr.  Daulby  at  Rydal  Mount  —  his  death  —  sonnet 
addressed  to  him  —  lines  on  his  death.  —  Establishment  of  the 
Athenaeum  at  Liverpool.  —  Letters  to  Mr.  Edwards  respecting  Mr. 
Coleridge.  — Robert  Burns  —  letters  respecting  him  —  monody  on 
his  death  —  letter  from  Dr.  Moore.  —  Publication  of  the  third  edi- 
tion of  Lorenzo  de' Medici.  ^ —  Letter  to  Dr.  Parr 150 


CHAPTER    VII, 

1799  —  1805. 

Mr.  Roscoe  purchases  Allerton  Hall,  and  retires  thither  —  his  pro- 
jected mode  of  life  —  his  studies.  —  Inscription — letter  to  Fuse- 
li—  Change  in  his  prospects  — becomes  a  partner  in  the  bank  of 
Messrs.  Clarke  —  letters  to   Dr.   Parr    and    Lord  Lansdowne  — 


:  CONTENTS. 

his  studies  suspended  —  his  opinions  on  political  affairs  —  letter  to 
Lord  Holland. —  Establishment  of  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Liver- 
pool —  prospectus  of  that  institution  —  address  delivered  previous- 
ly to  the  opening  of  the  garden.  —  Letter  from  Dr.  Rush  of 
Philadelphia.  —  Correspondence  with  Dr.  Smith  —  visit  of  the 
latter  to  Allerton  —  dedication  by  him  of''  Exotic  Botany  "  to  JNIr. 
Roscoe.  —  Mr.  Jloscoe  becomes  a   Fellow  of  the  Linnean  Society. 

—  Fuseli  visits  xMlerton  —  letter  from  him.  —  Mr.  Matiiias  —  his 
Canzone,  addressed   to   Mr.  Roscoe  —  correspondence   with   him. 

—  Dr.  Currie  —  his  friendship  for  Mr.  Roscoe  —  his  character 
and  death.  —  Letter  to  Mr.  Macneil.  —  Death  of  Mr.  William 
Clarke  —  his  character,  and  correspondence  with  Mr.  Roscoe  — 
lines  addressed  to  him  at  Lisbon  —  letter  on  his  death.  —  Death  of 
Mr.  Fox.  —  Letter  to  Lord  Holland.  —  Visit  to  London.  —  Political 
affairs.  —  Letters  to  Lord  Holland  and  Dr.  Parr  —  visit  of  the 
latter  to  Allerton 173 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

1805. 

Histories  of  the  age  of  Leo  X.,  Paulus  Jovius,  Fabroni.  —  Collins's 
projected  history.  —  Wharton.  —  Robertson.  —  Mr.  Roscoe  urged 
to  undertake  it.  —  Letters  to  Lord  Bristol  and  Lord  Holland.  — 
Motives  which  influenced  Mr.  Roscoe. —  Prooress  of  the  work. — 
Materials  procured  by  Lord  Holland  —  letter  to  him. —  Assistance 
rendered  by  the  Italian  scholars.  —  Mr.  Joimson's  offer  —  cor- 
respondence with  him  —  documents  procured  through  him.  —  In- 
formation obtained  at  Paris  by  the  Rev.  William  Sheplierd.  — 
Letter  to  Fabroni.  —  The  progress  of  the  woik  interrupted. —  Son- 
net. —  Letter  to  Dr.  Smith.  —  Publication  of  the  work.  —  Letter  to 
President  Jefferson,  and  answer.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Smith.  —  Letter 
from  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker,  and  answer.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  IShitliias. 
—  Other  opinions  in  favour  of  the  work.  —  Sonnet  by  Mr.  Hayley. 
•^Letters  to  Lord  St.  Vincent  and  to  Dr.  Parr.  —  Criticisms  upon 
the  work  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  —  in  other  publications.  —  Mr. 
Roscoe's  feelinn-.s  on  the  occasion  —  his  answer  to  tlie  Edinburirh 
reviewers  in  the  preface  to  the  second  edition.  —  Letter  to  Pro- 
fessor Smyth.  —  Prepares,  but  does  not  publish,  an  answer  to  his 
critics.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Mathias.  —  Reception  of  the  work 
abroad  —  in  Germany  —  is  translated  there  — is  translated  in  Italy 
by  Count  Bossi  —  French  translation  —  American  edition.  —  Effect 
of  his  literary  labours  on  the  health  of  Mr.  Roscoe.  —  Letters  to 
Fuseli  and  Lord  Buchan 224 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  IX. 

1806-7. 

Requisition  to  Mr.  Roscoe  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  representa- 
tion of  Liverpool  —  commencement  of  the  election  —  state  of 
parties  —  his  return  —  celebration  of  his  election —  his  speech  on 
that  occasion  —  leaves  Liverpool  to  attend  his  parliamentary  duties 

—  his  feelings  on  his  change  of  situation  —  letters  to  Mr.  Rath- 
bone  and  to  the  Rev.  W.  Shepherd. — Mrs.  Roscoe  joins  him  in 
London  —  letter  from  her.  —  Debate  on  the  Slave  Trade,  and 
Mr-  Roscoe's  speech.  —  Letter  to  Mr.  Shepherd.  —  Speech  on  Sir 
S.  Romilly's  Bill  for  subjecting  Real  Estates  to  simple  Contract 
Debts.  — Dissolution  of  the  Ministry.  —  His  speech  on  Mr.  Little- 
ton's motion. —  Speech  on  Mr.  Whitbread's  Bill  for  the  Education 
of  the  Poor.  —  Parliamentary  patronage.  —  He  assists  in  founding 
the  African  Institution  —  his  speech  on  that  occasion  —  termina- 
tion of  his  parliamentary  career  —  riot  on  his  return  to  Liverpool 

—  declines  to  come  forward  again  as  a  candidate  —  his  address  — 
address  to  him.  —  Letter  from  Dr.  Parr.  —  He  is  nominated  without 
his  concurrence  —  his  address  on  the  conclusion  of  the  election 

—  address  to  the  freemen.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Smith,  and  answer.  — 
Refuses  the  anpointment  of  Deputy  Lieutenant 262 


CHAPTER   X. 

1808. 

Mr.  Roscoe's  Tracts  on  the  War.  —  Publication  of  the  "  Considera- 
tions on  the  Causes,  &c.  of  the  War  with  France." — Character 
of  Mr.  Pitt  in  that  pamphlet.  —  The  attack  upon  Copenhagen. — 
Poem  of  ^- Copenhagen." — Letter  to  Mr.  Wilberforce.  —  Success 
of  the  pamphlet.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Whitbread.  —  Letter  to  Mr. 
Wilberforce.  —  Impression  made  by  the  pamphlet. — Publication 
of  "  Remarks  on  the  Proposals  for  Peace,"  &c.  —  Letter  from  Mr. 
Rathbone. — The  pamphlet  submitted  to  Mr.  Whitbread — letter 
from  him,  and  reply.  —  Mr.  Roscoe's  defence  against  his  critics.  — 
Letter  to  Professor  Smyth.  —  Opinions  on  the  pamphlet.  —  Let- 
ter from  Mr.  J.  Graham.  —  Letters  to  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne 
and  to  Mr.  Whitbread.  —  Some  of  his  political  friends  differ  from 
Mr.  Roscoe  on  the  subject  of  peace  —  he  proposes  and  carries  a 
pacific  address  at  a  public  meeting  at  Liverpool.  —  Letter  to  Mr. 
Mathias 305 


XU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XI. 

1809,  1810. 

Mr.  Roscoe  resumes  his  literary  studies  —  letter  to  the  Rev.  W.  P. 
Greswell  —  meditates  a  Life  of  Dr.  Currie  —  assists  Mr.  Cromek 
in  preparing  his  Relics  of  Burns  —  writes  the  preface  to  the  Gal- 
lery of  British  Portraits  —  his  enquiries  into  the  History  of  Art 
during  the  middle  ages  —  projects  a  History  of  the  Progress  and 
Vicissitudes  of  Literature  and  Art.  —  Death  and  character  of  Mr. 
Rathbone.  —  Mr.  Roscoe  an  active  member  of  the  African  Institu- 
tion—  communications  to  tliat  Society  —  controversy  with  Mr. 
George  Harrison  —  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  —  Essay  on 
the  Right  of  Great  Britain  to  compel  Foreign  Nations  to  abolish 
the  Slave  Trade.  —  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  —  Liberation 
of  nine  negroes  at  Liverpool  —  thanks  of  the  African  Institution. 
—  Publication  of  "Occasional  Tracts  on  the  War."  —  Letter  to 
Mr.  Whitbread.  —  Letter  to  Mr.  Wilberforce.  —  Letter  from  Sir 
Philip  Francis.  —  Publication  of  "Observations  on  the  Speech  of 
Earl  Grey."  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Whitbread. —  Letter  to  Lord  Ers- 
tine  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Aikin.  —  Letter  from  Sir  S.  Romilly.  —  Mr. 
Roscoe's  general  opinions  on  peace.  —  Early  writings  on  the  sub- 
ject  335 


u  "■  V 


CHAPTER   I. 

1753  —  1781. 


Family  of  Mr.  Roscoe  —  his  birth  —  loses  his  mother  at  an  early 
age  —  his  own  narrative  of  his  childhood  —  his  reluctance  to  the 
discipline  of  a  school  —  quits  school  at  twelve  years  of  age  — 
assists  his  father  in  gardening  —  is  placed  with  a  bookseller  — 
articled  to  an  attorney  —  his  attachment  to  reading  and  to  poetry 

—  imitations  of  Shenstone  —  attention  to  his  profession  —  his  early 

friends. Memoir  of   Francis   Holden  —  Robert   Rigby  —  Miss 

Done. —  Causes  which  led  to  the  formation  of  Mr.  Roscoe's 
poetical  character —  his  early  poems.  —  Ode  on  the  formation  of  a 
society  for  encouraging  the  arts  of  design,  &c.  —  Mount  Pleasant. 

—  Letter  from  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  —  smaller  poems  —  other 
studies  — "  Christian  Morality." 

The  family  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  for  a  considerable  period 
before  his  birth,  had  been  settled  in  the  central  part  of 
Lancashire,  where  they  lived  in  humble  circumstances. 
The  name,  which  in  other  parts  of  the  country  is  an  un- 
common one,  occurs  not  unfrequently  in  those  districts.* 

*  No  record  of  the  family  is  found  in  the  Herald's  College,  except 
the  information  furnished  by  Mr.  Roscoe  himself,  to  Sir  Isaac  Heard, 
Garter  Principal  King  at  Arms,  who  had  expressed  a  wish  to  trace 
its  origin.  In  a  letter  to  that  gentleman,  written  in  the  year  1797, 
Mr.  Roscoe  says,  "  From  all  that  I  can  learn,  it  appears,  that  whilst 
other  families  have  rolled  on  for  centuries  in  distinct  and  appropriate 
channels,  mine  has  always  been  mingled  in  the  common  mass,  and 
has  composed  a  part  of  the  immense  tide  that  daily  falls  into  the 
ocean  of  oblivion.  The  Origines  GueJficce  occupy  five  folio  volumes, 
whilst  the  origines  in  question  will  find  ample  space  in  five  lines. 
I  shall  return  the  pedigree  you  have  been  so  good  as  to  sketch  ; 
and  if  any  of  my  descendants  500  years  hence  should  be  desirous 
of  knowing  who  was  their  ancestor,  I  hope  that  your  kindness  will 

VOL.  I.  1 


M  LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  ROSCOE. 

Mr.  Roscoe  was  the  only  son  of  William  Roscoe  and 
Elizabeth  his  wife,  who  had  also  an  only  daughter, 
Margaret,  afterwards  the  wife  of  Daniel  Daulby,  Esq. 

At  the  period  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  birth,  his  father  kept 
a  public-house,  called  "  The  Bowling-Green,"  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Liverpool,  a  place  much  frequented 
for  the  recreation  afforded  by  its  garden  and  bowling- 
green.  His  father  continued  for  many  years  in  the 
same  business,  to  which  he  united  the  cultivation  of 
an  extensive  market-garden."*  He  was  a  man  below 
the  middle  stature,  but  of  remarkable  bodily  strength 
and  activity ;  of  much  vivacity  of  temperament,  and 
greatly  attached  to  field-sports  and  other  amusements, 
for  which  his  son  never  displayed  any  taste.  He  lived 
to  attain  a  very  considerable  age ;  and  two  years  before 
his  death,  which  took  place  in  1796,  he  was  removed 
by  Mr.  Roscoe  to  Ins  own  house  at  Birchfield,  where 
his  latter  days  were  soothed  by  the  continued  attentions 
of  his  children. 

Mr.  Roscoe's  mother,  a  woman  of  superior  mind  and 
warm  affections,  exercised  an  influence  over  his  charac- 
ter, the  effects  of  which,  to  the  latest  period  of  his  life, 
were  never  obliterated.  The  grateful  respect  and  at- 
tachment which  he  bore  her  memory,  were  frequently 

not  be  lost,  and  that  your  records  will  remain  to  give  them  the 
information."  In  a  letter  written  about  the  same  time  to  his 
brother-in-law,  Air.  Daulby,  Mr.  Roscoe  says,  *'  Amongst  my  new 
acquaintances  is  Sir  Isaac  Heard,  who  has  been  extremely  civil  to 
rae,  and  is  desirous  of  tracing  the  pedigree  of  the  noble  family  of 
the  Roscoes,  which  has  hitherto,  I  find,  baffled  all  his  researches. 
I  told  him  I  was  a  good  patriarch,  and  the  proper  person  to  hcrrin  a 
family,  as  I  had  six  sons,  &c.  Accordingly,  the  whole  descent  is 
registered  ;  and  the  Roscoes  and  Daulbys  may  now  go  on  in  sa;cul(i 
saculorum.     Amen." 

*  In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  retired  to  his  native  place,  Char- 
nock,  where  he  was  supported  for  many  years  by  his  son. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  d 

evinced  when  he  referred  to  the  period  of  his  childhood ; 
and  he  ahvays  dwelt  with  particular  pleasure  on  the 
years  during  which  he  had  experienced  her  watchful 
and  affectionate  care.  The  following  lines,  written  soon 
after  her  death,  though  evidently  a  juvenile  production, 
are  interesting,  as  expressive  of  his  feelings  towards 
her :  — ■ 

"  O!  best  of  Mothers!    Thou,  whose  guardian  care 
Sustain'd  my  infant  life,  Avhen,  weak  and  faint, 
I  pour'd  the  feeble  cry !     Thou,  whose  kind  hand 
Through  scenes  of  childhood  led  my  devious  steps 
Towards  Virtue's  arduous  way,  and  bade  my  soul 
With  ceaseless  assiduity  attempt 
The  glorious  road  !     Thou,  whose  preserving  hand 
With  friendly  aid  restrain'd  my  boist'rous  speed 
When  maddening  passions  ruled !     To  thee  I  owe 
Health  and  existence  I  and  shalt  thou  not  claim 
One  filial  sigh,  and  bid  one  starting  tear 
Fall  from  my  eye  ?  — 

What  splendid  scenes  had  Hope  too  fondly  sketch'd 
Of  future  bliss  !     But  ah !  at  Death's  approach 
The  fairy  colours  faded,  and  the  piece 
Remain'd  a  gloomy  void.     No  more  I  saw 
In  distant  view,  through  Fancy's  magic  glass, 
The  best  of  Mother's,  when  by  age  oppress'd, 
Beneath  my  roof  retired,  my  care  to  tend 
Her  sinking  frame,  to  raise  her  drooping  heart. 
With  converse  sweet  —  or,  if  deprived  of  sight  — 
To  lead  her  where  the  opening  roses  shed 
Ambrosial  odours  round  ;  and  vernal  gales 
Breathe  gently  o'er  the  field." 

Of  the  childhood  and  early  hfe  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  the 
following  account  is  derived  from  a  letter  addressed  by 
him,  a  few  montlis  before  his  death,  to  one  of  the  oldest 
and  dearest  of  his  friends ;  in  which  he  proposed  to 
amuse  himself,  during:  those  hours  which  sickness  now 


4  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

disa])lcd  him  from  devoting  to  more  serious  pursuits,  by 
tracing  for  the  eye  of  his  friend  a  brief  narrative  of  the 
principal  events  of  his  life  :  — 

''  I  was  born  on  the  8th  day  of  March,  1753,  at  the 
Old  Bowling-Green  House,  on  Mount  Pleasant,* one  of 
the  oldest  houses  yet  standing  in  Liverpool,  and  of 
which  an  excellent  drawing,  by  that  rising  artist,  Austin, 
is  engraved,  and  given  in  the  account  of  that  town,  now 
publishing  by  Fisher  and  Co. ;  but  in  the  following  year 
I  was  removed,  with  my  family,  to  the  New  Bowling- 
Green  House,  on  JMount  Pleasant,  which  my  father 
was  building  at  the  time  of  my  birth,  but  which  has 
since  been  taken  down  to  make  way  for  more  modern 
dwellino;s. 

*'  Of  that  interval  of  time  I  know  little  worth  record- 
ing. Yet,  when  I  tax  my  memory,  I  find  some  circum- 
stances which  give  indications  of  my  future  character. 
One  of  these  is,  a  decided  aversion  to  compulsion  and 
restraint,  insomuch  that  I  remember,  to  this  day,  being 
carried  to  a  schoolmistress  by  a  servant  with  a  rod,  not 
without  violent  struggling  and  opposition,  before  I  had 
the  honour  of  being  breeched  ;  and  throughout  my  future 
life,  it  wajs  with  great  difficulty  that  I  v/as  induced  to 
submit  to  the  restraints  and  attendance  necessary  to 
acquire  any  share  of  learning. 

"  This  incident  reminds  me  of  the  following  Address 
to    I/iberty,    in    the    second    part    of  '  The   JVrongs    of 
Africa  : '  — ■ 

'  At  my  birtli, 

What  though  the  Muses  smiled  not,  nor  distill'd 

Their  dews  Ilyblean  o'er  my  infant  couch  ; 

What  tliough  they  scattor'd  not  their  fading  floM'crs ; 

Yet  thou  wert  present,  tliy  diviner  flame 

Play'd  round  my  liead.     luipatient  of  control, 

My  young  step  follow'd  where  thou  led'st  tlie  way, 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  5 

And,  far  as  memory  traces  back  my  years, 

My  soul,  though  touch'd  with  human  sympathies, 

Revolted  at  oppression.' 

"  At  six  years  of  age,  I  was  taken  from  under  the 
care  of  my  good  old  schoolmistress,  and  placed  under 
the  tuition  of  Mr.  Martin,  who  kept  a  daily  school  for 
boys  in  Paradise  Street,  in  the  middle  of  Liverpool, 
where  I  improved  myself  in  reading  English,  and  where 
I  was  frequently  admitted  to  the  use  of  his  little  book- 
case, filled  with  the  best  authors  of  that  period.  To  his 
care,  and  the  instructions  of  a  kind  and  affectionate 
mother,  I  believe  I  may  safely  attribute  any  good  prin- 
ciples which  may  Jiave  appeared  in  my  conduct  during 
my  future  life.  It  is  to  her  I  owe  the  inculcation  of 
those  sentiments  of  humanity,  wdiich  became  a  principle 
in  my  mind.  Nor  did  she  neglect  to  supply  me  with 
such  books  as  she  thought  would  contribute  to  my  hte- 
rary  improvement.  Amongst  others,  I  still  remember, 
with  great  pleasure,  a  periodical  work,  entitled,  '  The 
Library,'  in  prose  and  verse.  Many  pieces  of  the  latter 
description  I  committed  to  memory  ;  some  of  which  I 
retain  to  this  day. 

"  After  remaining  about  two  years  with  Mr.  Martin, 
I  was  removed  to  Mr.  Sykes,  who  kept  a  school  in  the 
same  house,  for  writing  and  arithmetic,  to  which  were 
added,  instructions  in  English  grammar.  As  he  had  a 
numerous  school  of  boys,  I  found  myself  here  obhged 
to  fight  my  way  till  I  had  taken  a  certain  station,  and 
could  distinguish  my  superiors  from  my  inferiors.  (^With 
respect  to  my  new  master,  he  was  a  good  instructor  in 
what  he  professed  to  teach,  and  a  kind-hearted  man, 
although  on  one  occasion  I  incurred  his  severe  dis- 
pleasure, by  having  been  guilty  of  whipping  a  top,  witli 
one  of  my  school-fellows,  a  few  minutes  beyond  the 
1* 


b  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

lime  appointed  for  conimencing  school  in  the  afternoon. 
On  this  occasion,  the  master  pro])osed  to  make  an  ex- 
ample of  us  to  tlie  scholars.  His  mode  of  correction 
was  not  by  the  shameful  and  indecent  method  of  liogi!;inL; 
yet  so  prevalent  in  England,  but  by  means  of  a  small 
cane,  which  he  held  in  his  right  hand,  whilst,  taking 
that  of  the  culj)rit  in  the  other,  he  inflicted  on  his  back 
a  sufficient  number  of  strokes,  which  from  a  powerful 
man  to  a  child,  were  at  least  an  adequate  punishment 
for  any  childish  offence.  He  ordered  me  up  to  him, 
and,  taking  my  hand,  began  to  bestow  the  usual  disci- 
pline upon  me.  It  Avas  the  common  practice  of  the 
unfortunate  scholar  who  underwent  this  disgrace,  to 
endeavour  to  free  himself,  as  soon  as  the  master  relaxed 
his  grasp,  and  to  make  his  escape.  On  the  contrary, 
I  stood  immovable  on  this  occasion,  and  patiently  re- 
ceived all  that  was  administered.  When,  at  last,  the 
master  stopped,  expecting  I  should  retire,  I  stood,  witliout 
the  slightest  indication  of  emotion  of  any  kind,  till,  pro- 
voked at  my  contumacy,  he  again  seized  his  cane,  and 
impressed  on  me  such  a  memorial  of  his  ability,  as 
remained  on  my  back  a  considerable  length  of  time. 
This  was  the  first  and  the  last  time  that  1  ever  experi- 
enced the  punishment  of  a  school,  and  I  believe  neither 
my  master  nor  myself  retained  afterwards  any  sentiment 
of  ill  will  towards  each  other^ 

"  When  1  was  twelve  years  of  age  I  quitted  school, 
my  master  having  reported  tliat  I  had  learned  all  that 
he  was  ca))able  of  teaching  me  ;  which  included  a 
knowledij-e  of  the  common  rules  of  arithmetic,  mensura- 
lion,  and  algebra,  and  should  have  included  an  accjuaint- 
ance  also  witii  Englisli  grannnar,  to  which,  however,  1  had 
rallier  imbibed  a  dislike  than  otherwise.  The  numerous 
occasions  of  leisure  during  this  period  of  my  life  were 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  7 

devoted  to  other  employments.  Adjoining  to  my  father's 
property  was  a  considerable  manufactory  of  British  china- 
ware.  With  the  painters  employed  in  these  works  I 
became  intimate,  and  frequently  assisted  them  in  their 
labours,  in  which  I  was  tolerably  expert.  Among  these 
was  Hugh  Muhigan,  an  engraver  of  copperplates,  as  well 
as  a  painter,  who  some  years  afterwards  published  a  collec- 
tion of  his  own  poetical  compositions  in  a  quarto  volume, 
some  of  which  are  not  without  merit.  He  became  a 
kind  of  Mentor  to  my  youthful  years ;  and  my  acquaint- 
ance with  him,  under  different  circumstances,  continued 
till  his  death,  at  an  advanced  period  of  my  life.  I  also 
became  a  tolerable  joiner,  and  about  this  period  made 
for  myself  a  bookcase  with  folding  doors,  which  served 
me  for  many  years,  and  which  I  filled  with  several 
volumes  of  Shakspeare,  a  great  part  of  whose  historical 
plays  I  committed  to  memory ;  to  these  were  added  the 
Spectator  and  other  valuable  works,  which  I  perused 
with  great  pleasure.  One  of  these  books  I  have  yet  in 
my  possession,  marked  with  my  name,  on  the  5th  of 
June,  1765,  when  I  was  little  more  than  twelve  years 
of  age.  The  book  referred  to  is,  the  poems  of  Mrs. 
Catherine  Philips,  '  the  matchless  Orinda,'  a  writer  of 
the  time  of  Charles  II.,  of  considerable  merit,  who  died, 
amidst  the  admiration  of  her  contemporaries,  at  an  early 
age,  and  is  applauded  by  Cowley  in  his  Odes,  both 
living  and  dead.  Nor  can  it  be  denied,  at  the  present 
day,  that  her  works  have  in  them  a  depth  of  true 
feeling,  and  a  spirit  of  poetry,  which  will  keep  them  in 
remembrance. 

"  According  to  my  best  recollection,  I  was  at  this 
period  of  my  life  of  a  wild,  rambling,  and  unsocial  dis- 
position;  passing  many  of  my  hours  in  strolling  along 
the  shore  of  the  river  Mersey,  or  in  fishing,  or  in  taking 


8  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

long  walks  alone.*  On  one  occasion,  I  deteniiined  to 
become  a  sportsman  ;  and,  having  procured  a  gun,  and 
found  an  unfortunate  thrush  perched  on  the  branch  of  a 
tree,  I  brought  him  to  the  ground  with  fatal  aim  ;  but  I 
was  so  horrified  and  disgusted  with  the  agonies  I  saw  him 
endure  in  death,  that  I  have  never  since  repeated  the 
experiment. 

"  Having  quitted  school,  and  committed  my  English 
grammar  to  the  fiames,  I  now  began  to  assist  my  father 
in  his  agricultural  concerns,  particularly  in  his  business 
of  cultivating  potatoes  for  sale,  of  which  he  every  year 
grew  several  acres,  and  w^hich  he  sold,  when  produced 
early  in  the  season,  at  very  advanced  prices.  His  mode 
of  cultivation  was  entirely  by  the  spade  ;  and,  when 
raised  early,  they  were  considered  in  that  part  of  Lanca- 
shire as  a  favourite  esculent.  When  they  had  attained 
their  proper  growth,  we  were  accustomed  to  carry  them 
to  the  market  on  our  heads,  in  large  baskets,  for  sale, 
where  I  was  generally  intrusted  with  the  disposal  of 
them,  and  soon  became  a  very  useful  assistant  to  my 
father.  In  this  and  other  laborious  occupations,  par- 
ticularly in  the  care  of  a  garden,  in  which  I  took  great 
pleasure,  I  passed  several  years  of  my  life,  devoting  my 
hours  of  relaxation  to  reading  my  books.  This  mode  of 
life  gave  health  and  vigour  to  my  body,  and  amusement 

*  "  Most  persons,"  says  Mr.  Roscoc,  in  his  Life  of  Pope,  "  can 
relate  some  dangers  of  their  youth  from  which  they  liave  escaped 
with  difficulty."  He  has,  however,  himself  forgotten  to  relate,  in 
this  narrative,  an  incident  which  had  nearly  proved  fatal  to  liim. 
During  one  of  his  strolls  along  the  shore  of  the  Mersey,  wliile  the 
tide  was  out,  he  linnered  so  long,  that  the  returning  waters  had 
closed  round  the  hank  on  which  he  was  standing,  ht-fore  he  per- 
ceived the  danger  of  his  situation.  lieing  unable  to  swim,  his  only 
chance  of  esca])e  was  by  fording  the  water  while  it  was  yet  passable. 
This  he  was  fortunately  able  to  accomplish,  with  considerable  diffi- 
culty. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  if 

and  instmction  to  my  mind ;  and  to  this  day  I  well  re- 
member the  delicious  sleep  which  succeeded  my  labours, 
from  which  I  was  again  called  at  an  early  hour^  If  I 
were  now  asked  whom  I  consider  to  be  happiest  of  the 
human  race,  I  should  answer,  those  who  cultivate  the 
earth  by  their  own  hands.* 

"  Being  now  in  my  fifteenth  year,  I  was  called  upon 
to  make  choice  of  a  profession,  when  my  attachment  to 
reading  induced  me  to  prefer  that  of  a  bookseller.  I  was 
accordingly  placed  with  Mr.  Gore,  a  respectable  trades- 
man in  Liverpool ;  but,  after  remaining  there  for  a  month, 
and  not  finding  the  attendance  on  a  shop  reconcilable 
to  my  disposition,  I  quitted  him,  and  returned  to  my 
labours.  In  the  following  year  (1769)  I  was,  however, 
articled,  for  six  years,  to  Mr.  John  Eyes,  jun.,  a  young 
attorney  and  solicitor  in  Liverpool;  and  thus  entered 
upon  an  anxious  and  troublesome  profession.  I  passed 
all  the  hours  I  had  to  spare  in  perusing  such  authors  as 
fell  in  my  way,  among  whom  Shenstone  was  my  great 


*  This  narrative  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  early  history  resembles,  in  very 
many  of  its  circumstances,  the  account  he  has  himself  given  of  the 
youth  of  Pope.  The  Poet  left  school  at  the  age  of  twelve,  and  went 
to  reside  with  his  father,  who,  like  Mr.  Roscoe's,  supported  himself 
partly  by  the  cultivation  of  a  garden.  The  same  desultory  studies, 
amongst  which  an  attachment  to  poetry  appears  pre-eminent,  were 
pursued  by  both  ;  and  the  description  which  Pope  has  given  of  him- 
self, at  this  period  of  his  life,  might  well  be  applied  to  the  youth  of 
his  biographer  :  —  "I  followed  every  where  as  my  fancy  led  me,  and 
was  like  a  boy  gathering  flowers  in  the  woods  and  fields,  just  as 
they  fell  in  my  way  ;  and  these  five  or  six  years  I  still  look  upon  as 
the  happiest  part  of  my  life."  (Life  of  Pope,  p.  16.)  In  their  aver- 
sion to  compulsory  instruction,  also,  they  closely  resembled  each 
other.  "  I  never  learned  any  thing,"  says  Pope,  *^  at  the  little 
schools  I  was  at  afterwards,  and  never  should  have  followed  any 
thing  that  1  could  not  follow  with  pleasure."  Both  Pope  and  Mr. 
Roscoe  may  ''  be  properly  ranked  amongst  that  class  of  remarkable 
persons  who  have  been  their  own  instructors." 


10  LIFK     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

favourite,  till  from  admiring  I  began  to  imitate  him. 
Amongst  several  of  these  early  productions,  I  find  I 
have  preserved  the  following  verses  in  his  praise  :  — 


*0N   MR.    SHENSTO>E    AND    HIS    WRITINGS.* 

O  Shcnstone,  favourite  of  the  Nine, 
What  sweetly  varying  powers  are  thine  ! 
'T  is  thon  canst  bid  the  soul  to  glow 
With  purest  joy,  or  melt  with  woe  ; 
O'er  thee  bright  Fancy  waves  her  wings. 
And  strikes  for  thee  tlie  trembling  strings, 
And  soft  Simplicity  combines 
To  warble  through  thine  artless  lines. 
Far  from  the  glitt'ring  scenes  of  care. 
Thou  breathed  content  thy  native  air ; 
Too  good  for  Avealth,  too  great  for  pride, 
Thou  lived  beloved  —  respected  died. 
When  first  thy  genuine  warblings  stole 
With  gentlest  magic  on  my  soul. 
So  soft,  so  sweet,  so  clear,  so  strong 
The  tide  of  music  roll'd  along. 
That,  quite  enraptured  by  the  strains, 
Methouglit  with  thee  I  trod  the  plains, 
Reclined  with  thee  in  sliady  bowers, 
Survey'd  with  thee  the  opening  flowers. 
The  spacious  lawn,  the  rising  hill, 
The  rural  cot  and  sparkling  rill ; 
But  soon  the  dear  delusion  fled. 
And  left  reflection  in  its  stead.' 

"  On  one  occasion,  my  master  having  unexpectedly 
made  his  a])|)carance  in  our  office  intended  for  business, 
into  which  ho  seldom  entered,  found  a  copy  of  these 
lines  lying  on  the  desk,  which,  having  read,  he  asked 
if  they  were  mine,  and  being  answered  in  the  affirma- 
tive, paid  me  what  I  then  thought  a  great  compliment, 

*  Written  January,  1771. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  11 

by  observing,  that  I  must  have  copied  them  from  some 
other  writer.  This  admiration  of  Shenstone,  I  retained 
for  several  years,  as  I  find  by  some  hnes,  WTitten  at  a 
subsequent  period,  w^here,  referring  to  the  animosity 
with  which  poets  too  often  regard  the  talents  of  each 
other,  I  have  said, — 

'  Why  pour'd  sweet  Shenstone  his  enchanting  lay, 
Stamp'd  as  a  trifler  in  the  page  of  Gray, 
Or  why  should  Gray  deserve  a  better  fate, 
Below  the  good,  but  far  above  the  great. 
While  Johnson  tears  the  laurel  from  his  bust, 
Degrades  his  memory,  and  profanes  his  dust  ? ' 

"  Shenstone  was  not,  hov/ever,  long  the  sole  object  of 
my  poetical  adoration ;  his  claims  being  divided  with 
Goldsmith,  whose  '  Deserted  Village '  was  first  published 
about  this  period,  and  passed  through  several  editions. 
That  these  authors  have  fallen  into  neglect,  when  com- 
pared with  the  more  energetic  and  ambitious  poets  of 
the  present  day,  I  am  well  aware,  and  yet  I  know  not 
whether  these  writers  are  not  as  deserving  of  estimation  as 
those  of  modern  times,  who,  in  endeavouring  to  become 
more  natural,  have  too  often  fallen  into  the  vulgar  and 
the  mean,  and,  instead  of  improving,  have  debased  the 
public  taste." 

Here,  unfortunately,  the  manuscript  abruptly  con- 
cludes. The  lassitude  of  illness,  and  the  unfavourable 
effect  produced  upon  Mr.  Roscoe's  health  by  any  mental 
exertion  for  the  last  year  or  two  of  his  life,  prevented  him 
from  proceeding  with  his  projected  sketch,  —  a  circum- 
stance the  more  to  be  regretted,  as  the  materials  which 
remain  for  delineating  the  incidents  and  feelings  of  his 
youth  are  few  and  imperfect. 

Absence  of  restraint,  and  perfect  freedom  of  thought 
and  of  action,  during  the  early  period  of  life,  though 


12  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

favourable   to  originality  of  mind,   do  not   always  con- 
tribute   to    form   a  useful    and   well-balanced   cbaracter. 
The  sequestered  studies  which  add  strength  and  fervour 
to  the  poetical  temperament,  and  which  inspire  a  love 
of  intellectual  pleasures,  too  often  unfit  those  who  pursue 
them  for  the  irksome  duties  and  the  active  engagements 
of  life.     We,  consequently,  seldom  find,   in  the  history 
of  men  of  letters,  that  they  unite  with  their  mental  pre- 
eminence that  capacity   for   affairs  which   is  often   pos- 
sessed by  persons  of  meaner    endowments.     In  youth, 
more  especially,  it  is  difficult  to  impress  upon  the  mind 
devoted    to   intellectual    pursuits,    the    wisdom    and   the 
necessity  of  a  strict  regard  to  the   routine  of  common 
duties,  and  to  the  active  business  of  life.     It  might  have 
been  expected,  from  the  strong  attachment  of  Mr.  Ros- 
coe,    at  this   period,   to  literary   studies,   and   especially 
from  the  cultivation  of  his  poetical  taste,  that  the  graver 
business  of  his  profession  would  sometimes  have  been 
neglected  ;  but  the  circumstances  in  which  1ie  was  placed, 
as  well  as  the  peculiar  character  of  his  mind,  prevented 
him   from   falling   into  this  dangerous  error.     The  total 
dependence,  not  only  of  himself,  but  of  his  Hither  and 
his    sister,    upon    his    future    exertions,   afforded  a  most 
powerful  motive  for  assiduity ;  while  the  natural  energy 
of  his  mind  prevented  him  fiom  remaining  satisfied  with 
pursuits,  however  pleasant  or  instructive,  not  leading  to 
that  independence,  which  ought  to  be  to  every  man  the 
first  object  of  his  exertions. 

Throufdiout  the  whole  of  his  clerkship,  therefore,  his 
literary  improvement  was  made  a  secondary  object ;  his 
great  design  being  to  acquire  a  competent  knowledge 
of  his  profession,  and  to  render  himself  useful  to  his 
employers.  After  the  death  of  IMr.  Eyes,  he  served 
the  remainder  of  his  clerkship  with  Mr.  Peter  Ellames, 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  13 

an  eminent  attorney  of  Liverpool,  to  whom  his  indus- 
try and  talents  gave  great  satisfaction.  During  the 
whole  of  this  period  he  resided  with  his  father,  having 
had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  mother  some  years  pre- 
viously. 

Notwithstanding  his  strict  attention  to  business,  some 
hours  were  still  left  vacant,  and  these  were  gladly  de- 
voted by  him  to  the  improvement  of  his  mind  and  to 
the  cultivation  of  his  taste.  In  this  agreeable  task  he 
was  stimulated  by  the  sympathy  and  society  of  several 
friends  of  his  own  age,  with  whom  he  passed  much  of 
his  leisure  time,  and  in  the  selection  of  whom  the  charac- 
ter of  his  own  mind  was  clearly  manifested.  An  attach- 
ment to  elegant  literature,  a  love  of  study,  a  relish  for 
the  beauties  of  nature,  and  a  heart  capable  of  returning 
the  warmth  of  friendship,  were  the  qualities  which  dis- 
tinguished the  early  companions  of  Mr.  Roscoe.  Of 
these,  no  one  was  more  loved  or  admired  by  him  than 
Francis  Holden,  of  whom  he  has  said,  in  recaUing  the 
superior  qualifications  of  his  friend,  "  that  he  seemed  to 
realise  in  himself  the  accomplishments  both  of  body  and 
mind  which  have  been  attributed  to  the  admirable 
Crichton."* 

Francis  Holden  was  descended  from  a  family,  many 
members  of  which  had  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
progress  in  scientific  pursuits.  At  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  had  arrived  at  manhood  in  person,  in  manners,  and 
in  mental  acquirements.  His  figure  was  powerfully  yet 
elegantly  formed  ;  and  his  strength  and  agility  were  such, 

*  The  following  account  of  Francis  Holden  is  derived  from 
Mr.  Roscoe's  own  notes.  He  appears  to  have  had,  when  he  made 
them,  some  intention  of  recording  the  incidents  of  his  own  early 
life  ;  but  he  did  not  persevere  in  his  design ;  and  the  pages  contain 
merely  the  history  of  that  youthful  friend,  whose  genius  and  ac- 
quirements first  excited  his  literary  ambition. 

VOL.    I.  2 


14 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 


that  he  scarcely  ever  took  a  walk  into  the  fields  without 
exhibiting,  for  the  amusement  of  his  companions,  feats 
of  bodily  dexterity  which  might  have  extorted  the  ap- 
plause of  a  crowded  theatre.  To  the  extraordinary 
endowTTients  which  he  possessed,  he  added  such  a  cheer- 
ful vivacity,  and  so  unassuming  a  modesty,  as  to  relieve 
his  friends  from  the  sense  of  inferiority  which  his  splendid 
talents  and  extraordinary  accomplishments  were  so  well 
calculated  to  inspire.  To  those  who  knew  Francis 
Holden,  the  accounts  of  Pico  of  Mirandola,  and  of  Leo 
Battista  Alberti,  ceased  to  appear  incredible. 

At  a  very  early  age  he  became  an  assistant  in  the 
school  of  his  uncle,  Richard  Holden,  at  Liverpool, 
where  he  taught  the  mathematics,  and  the  Greek,  Latin, 
French,  and  Itahan  languages.  In  his  extemporaneous 
translations  his  talents  were  very  conspicuous.  So  correct, 
elegant,  unembarrassed,  and  concise  were  his  versions, 
that  they  might,  without  correction,  have  been  commit- 
ted to  th»  press.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Liverpool, 
he  became  accidentally  acquainted  with  Mr.  Roscoe, 
who,  although  he  was  at  that  time  very  deficient  in  the 
acquirements  by  which  Holden  was  so  much  distinguish- 
ed, attracted  the  regard  and  friendship  of  the  youthful 
scholar.  They  became,  during  their  leisure  hours,  al- 
most inseparable  companions ;  and  it  was  at  the  solicita- 
tion of  his  friend  that  Mr.  Roscoe  first  commenced  the 
study  of  languages,  receiving  from  him  gratuitous  in- 
structions in  French.  In  these  studies  he  made  a  rapid 
progress ;  and  the  capacity  of  enjoying  the  same  authors 
in  the  same  language  became  a  new  bond  of  union 
between  the  friends. 

After  remaining  a  few  years  in  Liverpool,  Holden  re- 
moved to  Glasgow,  with  the  view  of  improving  himself  by 
attending  the  lectures  of  the  professors  in  that  University. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  15 

He  resided  there  with  the  widow  of  his  uncle,  John  Hol- 
den,  well  known  by  his  learned  treatise  on  music.  "  My 
uncle,"  he  says  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  "  died 
the  morning  after  I  arrived.  He  declared  all  along  that 
he  only  lived  to  see  me.  I  cannot  say  any  more.  You 
shall  hear  more  of  this  shortly."  In  the  midst  of  his 
studies,  which  he  describes  as  extending  to  twelve  hours 
a  day,  Holden  found  time  to  maintain  a  correspondence 
with  his  friend ;  and  his  letters,  many  of  which  still  re- 
main, are  full  of  the  animation  and  intelligence  which 
distinguished  their  writer. 

Having  finished  his  studies  at  Glasgow,  Holden  accept- 
ed an  offer  to  accompany  a  young  gentleman  of  fortune 
to  France,  where  he  resided  for  some  time.  Upon  his 
return  to  England,  he  again  visited  Liverpool,  improved 
in  his  acquirements,  but  unaltered  in  his  affections.  The 
friend  who  had  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  his  society,  and  of 
his  instructions,  had  not,  in  the  mean  time,  been  idle. 

During  the  absence  of  Holden,  Mr.  Roscoe  had  de- 
voted much  of  his  leisure  to  the  acquisition  of  the  dead 
languages,  —  a  study  which  he  prosecuted  in  conjunction 
with  two  other  friends,  Mr.  William  Clarke  and  Mr. 
Richard  Lowndes,  with  whom,  to  the  close  of  their  lives, 
he  remained  in  habits  of  the  strictest  intimacy.  After 
the  return  of  Holden,  the  four  associates  were  accustomed 
to  meet  early  in  the  morning,  and  to  pursue  their  clas- 
sical studies  till  the  hours  of  business  arrived.  Hitherto 
Mr.  Roscoe  had  made  no  attempt  to  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  the  Italian  language ;  and  it  was  by  Francis  Holden 
that  his  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  literature  of 
that  country.  In  their  evening  walks,  Holden  was  accus- 
tomed to  repeat  passages  from  the  most  celebrated  poets 
of  Italy ;  and  the  pleasure  with  which  he  recited  their 
verses,  producing  a  strong  impression  upon  the  mind  of 


16  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Mr.  Roscoe,  led  him  to  apply  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  Italian  language ;  which,  however,  he  describes  him- 
self as  having  acquired  rather  by  slow  degrees,  and  by* 
gradual  application,  than  by  any  sudden  and  laborious 
effort.  The  first  idea  of  writing  the  life  of  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici  appears  to  have  occurred  to  him  in  the  course 
of  these  studies. 

Having  now  no  certain  occupation,  Holden  determined 
to  engage  in  the  study  of  the  law ;  for  which  purpose  he 
went  to  London,  and  became  a  member  of  one  of  the 
Inns  of  Court.  In  this  design  he  relied  much  upon  the 
advice  of  his  friend,  whose  kind  offices  towards  him  he 
acknowledges  in  the  following  letter :  — • 

"  My  dear  Roscoe, 
^'  The  day  after  I  received  your  Inexpressibly  kind 
letter,  I  waited  upon  Messrs.  Lyons,'^  who  received  me 
with  all  the  marks  of  a  sincere  friendship,  and  promised 
to  do  all  in  their  power  for  me  —  particularly  to  recom- 
mend me  to  the  gentleman  you  spoke  of.  I  have  heard 
no  more  of  that  business  as  yet,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from 
writing  to  you.  ]My  time  now  goes  on  more  pleasantly. 
I  have  met  with  one  or  two  Glasgow  friends,  who  treat 
me  with  an  affection  something  like  yours,  if  they  did 
but  know  how  to  express  it,  or  to  entertain  me  as  well. 
No,  my  dear  Roscoe  ;  it  will  never  be  my  fate,  it  will 
never  be  my  wish,  to  meet  with  so  faithful,  so  enirat'infr 
a  friend.  I  would  not  learn  to  do  without  you,  for  fear 
of  inconstancy.  *  *  *  I  will  make  you  my  director  in 
matters  of  law,  and  will  prepare  myself  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  be  of  real  service  to  him  who  will  please  to 
employ  me  ;  for  nothing  is  more  ojipressive  to  a  generous 
heart,  than  to  be  in  arrears  for  favours  received.     Must 


The  professional  agents  of  Mr.  Roscoe. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  17 

I  tell  you,  my  friend,  that  this  thought  has  given  me  no 

small  uneasiness  ?     I  know  it  is  not  in  my   power  to 

repay  your  kindnesses  to  me,   nor   to   be    of  half  the 

service  to  you  which  you  can  be  to  me ;  and  you  have 

always  done  all  you  could.     What  I  would  desire  is,  not 

that  you  should  w^aste  your  time  in  reading  law  books 

with  me,  w^iich  you  know  already ;  but  that  you  would 

answer   those    questions,  and   explain   those  difficulties, 

which  must  occur  of  course  to  a  young  beginner;  and 

that  you  would  furnish  me  with  books,  which  I  cannot 

at  this  time  afford  to  purchase.     But  above  all,  that  you 

will  not  put  me  upon  the  footing  of  one  whom  you  think 

yourself  obliged  to  entertain    at   the    expense    of  your 

time,  he,  but  use  me  as  one  w^hose  duty  and  desire  is  to 

render  himself  as  useful  to  you  as  possible,  and  as  little 

burdensome.     If  you  will  promise  me   these   things,  I 

shall  be  happy  if  Mr.  Lyon  succeeds  with  Mr.  Crompton 

the  special  pleader;  and  if  not,  I  will  console  myself, 

conscious  that  want  of  merit,  not  of  friends,  was  my  loss ; 

and  that  want  of  merit  is  one  of  Epictetus's  "  tcc  tqp'  %ulv,'' 

or  things  in  our  own   power ;  and  consequently  I  will 

take  care  not  to  be  long  without  it,  by  your  assistance, 

who  are  a  part  of  myself.     Adieu,  my  dear  Will." 

The   difficulties  which   Holden  had    to   encounter  in 

putting  into  execution  his  design  of  qualifying  himself 

for  the  bar,  sometimes  threw  a  gloom  over  his  spirits, 

which   communicated  itself  to   his  letters.     "  There  is 

nothing,"    he  says,    in  a  letter  written  from    London, 

*'  I  more   ardently  desire,  than  that  our  friendship  may 

continue  through  life.     It  began  at  an  early  period,  and 

perhaps  before  either  of  us  was  able  to  judge  what  were 

the  essential  quaUties  of  a  friend.     I  have  learned  since, 

by  disappointments,  to  know  and  value  them ;  and  may 

truly  pay  you  that  compliment  which  Hamlet  pays  to 
2# 


18  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOK. 

Horatio.  I  only  fear  vou  will  become  too  serious  and 
too  wise,  not  to  discover  imperfections  in  me,  which  will 
outweigh  the  few  e^ood  qualities  to  which  I  can  have  any 
pretensions.  Believe  me,  Roscoe,  reflections  of  this 
nature,  co-operating  with  retirement,  hard  study,  and  bad 
health,  sometimes  throw  a  gloominess  upon  the  prospect 
of  my  future  life,  which  makes  me  regard  it  with  an  in- 
difference amountino-  to  disirust.  'Tis  a  most  disaf^ree- 
able  situation,  to  have  nothing  to  do  but  study  in  hope 
of  some  distant  advantage,  and  only  exist  at  present, 
that  we  may  begin  to  live  some  years  after.  I  long  to 
be  in  some  active  employment,  —  no  matter  wliat, 
provided  I  can  get  called  to  the  bar  when  the  time 
comes.  *  *  *  If  something  does  not  fall  out  to  my  mind, 
you  will  see  me  in  Liverpool  in  June,  where  I  shall  be 
happy,  at  least  while  with  you.  But  pray  write  to  me 
often  before  that,  and  ])ut  me  in  humour  with  the  world 
and  myself.  I  often  see  David  Samwell,  and  philoso- 
phise with  him  upon  the  comparative  )uerits  of  a  savage 
and  a  civilised  life  ;  and  we  seem  both  to  be  of  our  friend 
Rousseau's  sentiments.  Samwell  is  a  man  of  humour, 
and  a  great  genius,  but  indolent:  he  is  going  out  again 
with  a  Captain  King,  who  had  long  been  Cook's 
lieutenant.  *  *  *  I  have  called  once  or  twice  upon 
Mr.  Deare,  who  got  the  medal  for  a  piece  of  sculpture, 
and  find  him  a  very  agreeable  young  man,  though  rather 
deficient  in  other  branches  of  education.  It  gives  me 
pleasure  to  be  informed  of  your  progress  in  Italian  ;  but 
I  do  not  agree  with  you  in  thinking  it  inferior  to  the 
Latin  in  any  respect ;  to  the  Greek,  I  own,  it  is  infinitely 
inferior,  —  I  mean,  when  the  Greek  is  pronounced  as  it 
ought  to  be.  If  you  can  spare  the  plan  1  gave  you  for 
the  Italian  verbs,  pray  send  it  me  with  your  next  letter, 
for  I  do  not  remember  it  perfectly." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  19 

Pecuniary  considerations  rendered  it  necessary  that 
Holden,  while  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  law,  should 
adopt  some  measures  for  his  present  subsistence ;  and 
the  plan  which  he  pursued  ultimately  led  him  to  abandon 
his  legal  studies.  He  removed  to  Cambridge  ;  where 
his  very  remarkable  acquirements,  and  engaging  manners, 
soon  procured  him  friends.  Having  obtained  a  compe- 
tent number  of  pupils  to  afford  him  a  liberal  income,  he 
took  a  house  at  Chesterton,  and  married ;  but  he  had 
not  resided  more  than  two  or  three  years  at  that  place, 
when  the  symptoms  of  approaching  consumption  threw 
a  gloom  over  his  prospects,  and  compelled  him  to  take  a 
voyage  to  Lisbon,  as  the  only  chance  for  his  recovery. 
Whatever  might  have  been  the  effects  of  a  southern 
climate,  he  did  not  live  to  experience  them. 

Another  of  the  friends  to  whom  Mr.  Roscoe  was 
attached  by  a  similarity  of  pursuits,  and  especially  by  a 
mutual  taste  for  poetry,  was  Robert  Rigby,  a  young 
man  of  fine  talents,  who,  like  himself,  occasionally  de- 
voted his  pen  to  poetical  compositions.  The  two  friends 
were  accustomed,  not  only  to  study  together,  but,  when 
their  occupations  permitted  them,  to  make  excursions 
into  the  country,  —  a  circumstance  alluded  to  in  the  fol- 
lowing lines  addressed  to  Mr.  Rigby  :  — 

"  Friend  of  my  heart !  how  blest,  with  thee, 

Of  late  I  traversed  with  unwearied  feet 
The  wide  champaign  —  o'erjoy'd  to  see 

The  woodland  charms,  and  breathe  an  air  more  sweet ; 
To  taste  that  imreproved  delight 

Which  the  keen  breast  with  thrilling  transport  warms. 
When  full  upon  the  unbounded  sight 

Luxuriant  Nature  opens  all  lier  charms, 
Where  smiles  the  extended  lawn  in  glowing  pride, 

Sinks  the  green  vale,  or  swells  the  airy  hill, 
Waves  the  rude  grove  its  hoary  branches  wide, 

And  down  its  bosom  steals  the  darkling  rill. 


20  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

This,  tliis  is  transport ;  but,  alas ! 

Too  soon  tlie  transient  Eden  disappears, 
And,  fraudful  as  tlie  artist's  magic  glass, 

Tlie  faded  prospect  now  dissolves  in  tears. 
Ah  !  what  avails  the  gentler  heart, 

Tliat  beats  to  every  finer  feeling  true, 
Can  taste  each  bliss  that  genius  can  impart, 

And  catch  from  nature's  face  each  varied  imc  — 
The  breast  Avith  sympathy  that  glows, 

When  on  the  houseless  head  the  rude  storm  showers  — 
If  Poverty  her  hateful  form  oppose. 

Damp  all  their  fires,  and  deaden  all  their  powers  — 
For  the  sweet  hour  of  leisure  doom'd  to  siirh. 

Yet  waste  in  ceaseless  toils  the  inglorious  year, 
To  see  the  friendless  child  of  woe  pass  by, 

And  only  pay  the  tribute  of  a  tear  ? 
Yet  envy  not  the  wretch  whose  countless  hoards 

To  narrow  bounds  have  circumscribed  his  soul ; 
More  bliss  to  generous  minds  one  hour  affords ; 

Than  he  can  feel  whilst  circling  ages  roll." 

The  spirit  of  despondency  which  breathes  through 
many  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  early  pieces,  and  with  which,  in 
his  youthful  hfe,  he  had  sometimes  to  contend,  is  forcibly 
displayed  in  the  foregoing  lines. 

To  the  early  and  sudden  death  of  Robert  Rigby, 
who  w^as  drowned  while  crossing  the  Irish  Channel, 
Mr.  Roscoe  alludes  in  some  lines  addressed,  many  years 
afterwards,  to  Dr.  Currie. 

"  'T  was  thus,  in  health's  high  bloom  and  youth  elate, 
My  Rigby  yielded  to  his  early  fate." 

To  the  friends  already  mentioned,  in  whose  society 
Mr.  Roscoe  spent  many  of  the  happiest  years  of  his 
early  life,  may  be  added  a  young  lady,  who,  to  the  usual 
accomplisliments  of  her  sex,  united  high  cultivation  of 
mind,  and  considerable  poetical  talents.  Miss  Maria 
Done,  with  her  sisters,  Mrs.  Bewley  and  Mrs.  Holmes, 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  21 

resided  in  Westmorland ;  but  an  intimacy  with  some  of 
Mr.  Roscoe's  friends  in  Liverpool,  and  temporary  visits 
to  that  place,  led  to  an  acquaintance  with  him,  which 
gradually  ripened  into  friendship.  They  occasionally 
corresponded,  and  exchanged  the  productions  of  their 
Muse.  Several  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  early  pieces  are  ad- 
dressed to  this  lady ;  and  to  her  he  originally  inscribed 
his  poem  of  "  Mount  Pleasant,"  in  some  lines  which  do 
not  appear  in  the  printed  copy.  The  character  of 
Miss  Done  was  of  the  most  admirable  and  elevated 
class,  as  appears  both  from  her  poetry  and  her  cor* 
respondence.  She  afterwards  married  Mr.  John  Barton. 
Subsequent  to  this  event,  she,  with  her  sisters,  still  con- 
tinued on  the  same  friendly  footing  with  Mr.  Roscoe 
and  his  family  for  many  years ;  and  Mr.  Barton  became 
one  of  his  warmest  friends,  and  most  frequent  correspon- 
dents. Her  son,  Mr.  Bernard  Barton,  to  whom  her 
poetical  talents  have  descended,  and  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Hack,  the  author  of  many  valuable  works  for  children, 
are  well  known  in  the  literary  world.  Some  idea  of 
her  powers  as  a  poet,  and  of  her  feelings  as  a  friend,  as 
well  as  of  her  fine  discernment  and  just  appreciation  of 
the  promise  held  out  by  Mr.  Roscoe's  early  years,  may 
be  formed  from  the  following  lines.  They  occur  at  the 
conclusion  of  a  poem  "  On  Pride,"  dedicated  to  him, 
and  written  in  the  year  1774. 

"  But  cease,  my  Muse  !  unequal  to  the  task, 
Forbear  the  effort,  and  to  nobler  hands 
Resign  the  lyre  —  thee,  Roscoe,  every  Muse 
Uncall'd  attends,  and  uninvoked  inspires. 
In  blooming  shades  and  amaranthine  bowers 
They  weave  the  future  laurel  for  thy  brow, 
And  wait  to  crown  thee  with  immortal  fame. 
Thee  Wisdom  leads  in  all  her  lonely  walks ; 
Thee  Geniu^  fires,  and  moral  Beauty  charms : 


22  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Be  it  thy  task  to  touch  the  feeling  heart, 
Correct  its  passions,  and  exalt  its  aims ; 
Teach  Pride  to  own,  and  owning,  to  obey 
Fair  Virtue's  dictates,  and  her  sacred  laws : 
To  brighter  worlds  show  thou  the  glorious  road, 
And  be  thy  life  as  moral  as  thy  song." 

The  causes  which  led  to  the  formation  of  that  hvely 
taste  for  poetry,  which  was  so  early  developed  in  Mr. 
Roscoe,  are  not  difficult  to  be  traced.  Strong  natural 
feelings,  and  an  ardent  and  sanguine  temperament,  form 
the  foundation  upon  w^iich  the  poetical  character  is 
built.  This  native  susceptibility  to  the  influence  of 
poetry  received,  in  his  case,  no  check  from  that  strict 
attention  to  other  pursuits  which  the  ordinary  education 
of  young  persons  imposes  upon  them ;  and  his  desultory 
studies  were  more  frequently  directed  to  the  pages  of 
the  poets,  than  to  the  wTiters  whose  works  are  generally 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  young.  The  habits  of  his 
early  life  were  also  favourable  to  the  same  influences,  as 
may  be  clearly  traced  in  the  account  he  has  given  of 
his  childhood  —  of  his  meditative  and  retiring  dispo- 
sition —  and  of  his  solitary  walks  along  the  shores  of 
the  Mersey.  The  love  of  poetical  composition  continued 
to  acquire  power,  as  it  will  ever  do  under  such  favouring 
circumstances ;  and  before  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
twenty,  he  had  produced  some  poems  of  no  inconsider- 
able merit.  In  these,  the  youthful  efforts  of  his  Muse, 
may  be  discovered  the  dawnings  of  his  character. 

Having  become,  in  the  year  1773,  one  of  the  founders 
of  a  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  Arts  of 
Painting  and  Design,  in  the  town  of  Liverpool,  he 
commemorated  the  event  by  an  Ode,  which  was  his 
first  pul)li.slied  piece.  It  was  afterwards  reprinted,  with 
the    poem    of  '^  Mount    Pleasant,"    in    the   year    1777. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  23 

This  was  favourably  noticed  in  some  of  the  Reviews  of 
the  day ;  and  the  following  passage,  containing  a  com- 
parison between  music  and  painting,  was  selected  as  a 
specimen  of  the  author's  manner :  — 

"  When  just  degrees  of  shade  and  light 

Contend  in  sweetest  harmony, 

Then  bursts  upon  the  raptured  sight 

The  silent  music  of  the  eye. 

Bold  as  the  base's  deeper  sound, 

We  trace  the  well  imagined  ground ; 

Next,  in  the  varying  scenes  behind, 

The  sweet  melodious  tenor  find  ; 

And  as  the  softening  notes  decay. 

The  distant  prospect  fades  away ; 

Their  aid  if  mingling  colours  give, 

To  bid  the  mimic  landscape  live  ; 
The  visual  concert  breaks  upon  the  eyes, 
With  every  different  charm  that  Music's  hand  supplies." 

A  similar  comparison  between  the  great  masters  of 
poetry  and  painting,  displays  the  early  taste  of  the  author 
for  the  arts  as  well  as  for  literature. 

"  Majestic,  nervous,  bold,  and  strong, 
Let  Angelo  with  Milton  vie  ; 
Opposed  to  Waller's  amorous  song, 

His  art  let  wanton  Titian  try ; 
Let  great  Romano's  free  design 
Contend  with  Dryden's  pompous  line  ; 
And  chaste  Correggio's  graceful  air 
With  Pope's  unblemish'd  page  compare  ; 
Loraine  may  rival  Thomson's  name  ; 
And  Hogarth  equal  Butler's  fame  ; 
And  still,  where'er  the  aspiring  Muse 
Her  wide  unbounded  flight  pursues, 
Her  sister  soars  on  kindred  wings  sublime. 
And  gives  her  favourite  names  to  grace  the  rolls  of  time." 

Before  attaining  his  twentieth  year,  he  made  a  bolder 
attempt ;    and  in  imitation  of  the    "  Grongar  Hill "    of 


24  LIFE     or     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Dyer,  and  the  "  Edgehill "  of  Jago,  he  selected,  as  the 
subject  of  his  poem.  Mount  Pleasant,  an  eminence  over- 
looking the  towTi  of  Liverpool. 

"  The  sliades  of  Grongar  bloom  secure  of  fame  ; 
Edgehill  to  Jago  owes  its  lasting  name  ; 
When  Windsor  Forest's  loveliest  scenes  decay, 
Still  shall  they  live  in  Pope's  unrivall'd  lay: 
Led  on  by  Hope,  an  equal  theme  I  choose ; 
Oh !  might  the  subject  boast  an  equal  Muse  ! 
Then  should  her  name  the  force  of  time  defy. 
When  sunk  in  ruins  Liverpool  shall  lie." 

In  this  poem  he  not  only  celebrates  the  growing  im- 
portance of  his  native  town,  its  commerce,  and  its  public 
institutions,  but  attempts,  as  he  often  did  in  after  life, 
to  direct  the  attention  of  his  townsmen  to  the  more 
liberal  pursuit  of  literature  and  science,  ''  and  to  abate 
that  spirit  of  enterprise  and  thirst  of  gain,  which,  when 
too  much  indulged,  is  seldom  productive  either  of  virtue 
or  happiness."* 

"  Ah !  why,  ye  sons  of  wealth,  with  ceaseless  toil, 
Add  gold  to  gold,  and  swell  the  shining  pile  ? 
Your  general  course  to  happiness  ye  bend, 
Why,  then,  to  gain  the  means,  neglect  the  end  ? 
To  purchase  peace  requires  a  scanty  store ; 
—  Oh,  spurn  the  groveling  wish  that  pants  for  more ! 
And  thirst  not  with  the  same  unconquer'd  rage, 
Till  nature  whitens  in  the  frost  of  ajre ; 
But  rather  on  the  present  hour  rely. 
And  catch  the  happier  moments  ere  they  fly ; 
And  whilst  the  spring  of  life  each  bliss  inspires. 
Improve  its  gifts,  and  feed  the  social  fires  ;   . 
Let  Friendship  soften,  Love  her  charms  disclose, 
Peace  guard  your  hours  and  sAveeten  your  repose : 
Yet,  not  regardless  how  your  joys  endure, 
Let  watchful  prudence  make  tliose  joys  secure." 


*  Advertisement  to  "  An  Ode  on  the  Institution  of  a  Society  in 
Liverpool,  for  the  Encouragement  of  Designing,"  &c. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  25 

The  temper  and  tastes  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  at  this  period 
of  his  life,  are  manifested  in  the  following  lines :  -— 

*'  Oh  still  at  midnight's  milder  hour,  be  mine 
To  trace  with  raptured  eye  the  Bear  dechne ! 
Catch  the  pure  gale  as  from  the  main  it  springs, 
Sahibrious  freshness  dropping  from  its  wings  ; 
—  Then,  cares  forgot,  and  sorrows  soothed  to  rest, 
Each  ruder  passion  banish'd  from  the  breast, 
Mild  as  the  hour,  and  cloudless  as  the  skies, 
The  mind  on  stronger  pinions  loves  to  rise ; 
And  loosen'd  from  the  dull  restraints  of  day. 
Expansive  gives  the  springs  of  thought  to  piay. 
Bold,  active,  vigorous,  through  the  enfranchised  soul 
The  nobler  trains  of  fair  ideas  roll : 
The  ardent  glow  that  wakes  at  friendship's  name, 
The  thirst  of  science,  and  the  patriot  flame ; 
The  generous  fear,  that  wounds  the  youthful  breast, 
To  live  inglorious,  and  to  die  unblest ; 
A  liberal  scorn  of  every  low  desire. 
Of  all  that  knaves  pursue,  and  fools  admire, 
Of  fortune's  stores,  of  splendour's  sickly  blaze, 
Precarious  bliss,  and  unsubstantial  praise." 

That  inhuman  traffic,  against  which,  throughout  the 
whole  length  of  a  life  extended  beyond  the  common 
period,  the  voice  of  Mr.  Roscoe  was  unceasingly  raised, 
was  not  unnoticed  in  this  early  poem.  "  Mount  Pleasant" 
contains  his  first  protest  against  the  Slave  Trade. 

"  Mount  Pleasant,"  which  was  not  published  until  the 
year  1777,  met  with  a  favourable  reception  in  many 
quarters.  It  had  previously  been  submitted  to  the  cul- 
tivated judgment  of  Dr.  Enfield,  who  returned  it  to 
Mr.  Roscoe  w^ith  the  following  letter :  — 

^^  I  cannot  take  leave  of  your  excellent  poems,  with- 
out thanking  you  for  the  pleasure  they  have  afforded 
me.  They  cannot  fail  of  being  highly  acceptable  to 
every  reader  of  classical  taste,  and  will,  I  am  persuaded, 

VOL.  I.  3 


26  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

obtain  for  their  author  no  inconsiderable  sliare  of  reputa- 
tion. The  few  Hberties  which  1  have  taken,  have  been 
rather  w^ith  a  view  to  express  my  respect  for  the  writer, 
than  in  expectation  of  making  any  material  improvement 
in  the  poems." 

Amongst  other  persons  to  whom  Mr.  Roscoe  pre- 
sented a  copy  of  his  poems,  was  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds, 
from  whom  he  had  the  gratification  of  receiving  an 
opinion  favourable  to  their  merits,  and  of  learning  that 
the  suffrage  of  Mason  had  been  given  in  their  favour. 

"  I  am  now  to  return  you  my  thanks  for  the  present 
of  your  poetical  works,  which  I  have  read  with  the 
greatest  pleasure.  It  is  approaching  to  impertinence,  to 
say  that  I  was  much  surprised  at  seeing  such  excellence 
in  a  work  which  I  had  never  heard  of  before,  or  the 
author's  name  reached  my  ears ;  how^ever,  I  found  other 
people  were  not  quite  so  ignorant.  I  mentioned  the 
poem  to  Mr.  Mason,  who  dined  with  me  a  few  days 
ago.  I  do  not  recollect  that  he  knew  your  name,  but 
he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  poem,  which  he  read 
when  it  was  first  published.  I  had  the  satisfaction  of 
hearing  my  opinion  fully  confirmed  by  his  authority." 

Of  the  early  poetical  taste  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  a  record 
remains  in  several  manuscript  volumes,  in  which  he 
had  made  a  selection  from  the  writings  of  the  popular 
poets  of  the  day,  together  with  such  fugitive  pieces  as 
had  attracted  his  notice.  Shenstone  holds  a  distinguished 
place  in  the  collection,  in  which  Goldsmith  and  Collins 
also  appear  to  be  favourites.  Several  original  poems  by 
himself  are  inserted  in  these  volumes,  as  well  as  in  the 
selections  of  one  in  whose  studies  he  took  the  greatest 
interest.  At  the  commencement  of  one  of  the  volumes 
containing  those  selections,  the  following  verses  appear, 
written  in  his  own  hand  :  — 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  ^1 

"  In  the  blest  round  of  youth's  delightful  hours,  ' 

How  sweet  through  Fancy's  flowery  fields  to  stray, 
Catch  the  wild  notes  inventive  Genius  pours. 
And  stamp  on  lasting  leaves  the  genuine  lay. 

"  Nor  think  those  hours  to  trivial  cares  consign'd, 
Thou  with  the  favouring  Muses  may'st  employ ; 
'T  is  they  who  harmonise  the  youthful  mind, 
And  waken  every  avenue  to  joy. 

"  Bid  the  free  soul  the  groveling  crew  despise, 

Whom  humbler  hopes  of  power  and  riches  move  ; 
Bid  the  free  soul  to  nobler  prospects  rise  — 
To  Fancy,  Friendship,  Harmony,  and  Love." 

It  was  not  alone  to  the  pursuits  of  elegant  literature, 
and  to  the  pleasures  of  poetical  composition,  that  Mr. 
Roscoe's  studies  were  directed.  More  serious  enquiries 
occasionally  engaged  his  attention.  An  early  and  careful 
perusal  of  the  Sacred  Writings  had  led  him  to  reflect 
much  upon  subjects  which  do  not  usually  engage  the 
attention  of  the  young,  and  gave  a  tone  to  his  character 
observable  throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  after  life. 
Amongst  his  youthful  writings  is  a  small  volume,  to 
which  he  had  given  the  title  of  "  Christian  Morality,  as 
contained  in  the  Precepts  of  the  New  Testament,  in 
the  Lano-uage  of  Jesus  Christ."  To  this  little  tract, 
Mr.  Roscoe,  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  added  the 
following  memorandum :  — "  Done  when  I  was  very 
young  —  very  erroneous  and  imperfect."  It  had  been 
submitted  to  Dr.  Enfield,  apparently  soon  after  it  was 
written,  and  a  few  verbal  corrections  and  occasional 
remarks  occur  in  the  handwriting  of  that  excellent 
man. 

In  the  introduction  to  this  work,  Mr.  Roscoe  points 
out  the  peculiar  beauty  and  perfectness  of  the  moral 
precepts  contained  in  the  New  Testament,  and  explains 


28  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE, 

his  motives  for  the  selection  and  arrangement  which  he 
had  made. 

*'  The  object  of  the  ensuing  sheets  is  to  collect,  in  one 
uniform  and  regular  system,  the  moral  duties  which  are 
inculcated  m  various  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  by 
the  direct  and  immediate  words  of  our  Saviour,  and 
thereby  to  promote  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  virtue, 
and  to  render  tlie  study  of  the  Scriptures  more  easy  and 
pleasant. 

"  It  is  a  melancholy  but  true  observation,  that  whilst 
the  speculative  and  abstruse  parts  of  the  New  Testament 
have  been  the  subject  of  endless  debate,  and  enquiry, 
and  contention,  the  moral  or  preceptive  part  has  been 
too  often  overlooked  and  forgotten ;  and  hence,  in  a 
great  degree,  has  arisen  that  dreadful  perversion  which 
has  so  deeply  injured  the  cause  of  true  religion. 

"  If  the  Christian  scheme  was  intended  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  instruct  mankind  in  Divine  mysteries, 
the  compiler  of  the  following  pages  has  deceived  him- 
self, and  his  work  is  useless ;  but  he  is  bold  to  ascribe 
the  Divine  mission  of  Christ  to  another  and  more  benefi- 
cent purpose  ;  for  it  is  his  persuasion,  that  the  Christian 
religion  was  designed  by  the  Almighty  to  promote  the 
eternal  happiness  of  mankind,  by  the  truest  pursuit  of 
their  temporal  welfare  ;  to  instruct  them  in  the  practice 
of  virtue  ;  and  to  prompt  them,  by  every  inducement 
that  can  influence  rational  and  eternal  beings,  actively 
to  pursue  that  course  of  conduct  which  alone  can  render 
them  finally  ha])py." 

The  author  enforces  this  remark  from  the  precepts 
and  example  of  Christ ;  and* particularly,  for  this  pur- 
pose, quotes  the  conclusion  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
(Matt.  vii.  15.)  as  "  so  explicit  and  striking,  that  it  must 
appear  superfluous  to  insist  farther  on  an  interpretation  of 
the  Christian  doctrine. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  29 

"  It  Is  not  Intended  to  touch  In  the  least  on  speculative 
points,  nor  even  to  demonstrate  the  belief  necessary  to 
salvation :  these  must  be  the  employ  of  a  much  superior 
understanding.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered,  that 
innumerable  volumes  have  been  written  to  compile  a 
system  of  belief  from  the  Sacred  Volume,  and  to  separate 
its  doctrines  from  its  precepts ;  yet  these  authors  are 
not  accused  of  depreciating  the  necessity  of  a  blameless 
conduct :  for  once,  then,  let  us  endeavour  to  render  the 
practical  part  more  useful,  by  connecting  it  under  one 
point  of  view,  without  being  censured  as  Inimical  to  the 
belief  of  the  .more  abstruse  parts  of  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures. The  excellence  of  these  precepts  cannot  be  too 
much  insisted  on,  and  equally  command  the  attention 
of,  and  are  necessary  to  be  obeyed  by,  all  sects,  parties, 
and  denominations." 

The  author  concludes,  by  saying,  that  he  "  believes 
this  to  be  the  first  attempt  to  extract  from  the  New 
Testament  a  complete  rule  of  conduct."  It  Is,  perhaps, 
worthy  of  notice,  that  in  1831,  when  Mr.  Roscoe  had 
the  pleasure  of  a  personal  Introduction  to  Rammohun 
Roy,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  showing  to  the  author  of 
the  "  Precepts  of  Jesus,"  the  youthful  production  of  his 
first  rehgious  enquiries  and  impressions. 

The  work  Itself  Is  divided  Into  three  heads :  viz.  Duty 
to  God ;  Duty  to  our  Fellow  Creatures ;  and  Duty  to 
Ourselves.  Each  of  these  Is  illustrated  by  apposite 
quotations  from  the  precepts  of  Christ,  connected  to- 
gether by  a  ''  few  short  illustrations  and  reflections, 
suggested  to  the  author  by  the  plain  and  literal  signifi- 
cation of  the  different  passages." 

The  spirit  of  purity,  mercy,  forgiveness,  and  charity, 
which  breathes  throughout  the  New  Testament,  seems 
peculiarly  to  have  fixed  the  attention  of  Mr.  Roscoe  in 
3* 


30  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

the  composition  of  this  tract ;  and  it  was  to  the  operation 
of  these  divine  principles  upon  his  conduct  and  temper 
througliout  hfe,  that  may  be  attributed  all  that  was  most 
attractive  and  most  exalted  in  his  mind  and  character. 


CHAPTER  II. 


1781  —  1787. 


Is  admitted  an  attorney,  and  enters  into  partnership  at  Liverpool  — 
his  acquaintance  with  Miss  Jane  Griffies,  and  correspondence 
with  her  —  his  marriage  with  her  —  visits  London  —  his  taste  for 
collecting  prints  and  books  —  his  love  of  art.  —  "  Society  for  pro- 
moting Painting  and  Design  "  established  at  Liverpool  —  his  lec- 
tures there  —  his  first  acquaintance  with  Fuseli  —  writes  "  The 
Origin  of  Engraving,"  a  poem  —  reference  in  that  poem  to  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici  —  his  collection  of  prints  —  his  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Strutt,  author  of  the  '^  Dictionary  of  Engravers  "  —  his  con- 
tributions to  that  w^ork  —  is  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Manchester. 

Having  completed  the  period  of  his  clerkship,  Mr. 
Roscoe  was,  in  tlie  year  1774,  admitted  an  attorney  of 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Liverpool.  In  the  course  of 
the  same  year  he  entered  into  partnership  with  a  gen-, 
tleman  of  the  name  of  Bannister ;  but  this  connection 
lasted  only  a  short  period.  A  second  engagement  of 
the  same  kind  was  more  fortunate  ;  and,  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Samuel  Aspinall,  who  had  long  been  known 
by  the  respectability  of  his  practice,  he  became  actively 
engaged  in  the  duties  of  his  profession. 

He  did  not,  however,  neglect  the  studies  which  had 
already  attracted  so  much  of  his  attention ;  and,  in  the 
society  of  the  friends  who  have  already  been  mentioned, 
he  continued  to  prosecute  his  literary  enquiries  during 
the  intervals  of  business. 


32  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Amongst  those  with  whom,  at  this  early  period  of  his 
hfe,  My.  Roscoe  was  in  hahits  of  intimacy,  was  the 
family  of  jMr.  William  Grifhes,  a  respectable  tradesman 
of  Liverpool.  Of  the  three  daughters  of  Mr.  Griffies, 
the  second,  Jane,  soon  attracted  his  admiration,  and  won 
his  affection,  by  her  gentle  yet  lively  manners,  by  the 
sweetness  of  her  disposition,  and  by  the  many  admirable 
qualities  of  her  truly  feminine  mind.  Although  the  state 
of  his  circumstances  at  this  time  gave  little  promise  of 
an  immediate  union  with  the  object  of  his  attachment,  it 
was  not  the  wish,  and  perhaps  it  was  scarcely  in  the 
power,  of  one  possessing  the  frank  and  ardent  character 
of  Mr.  Roscoe,  to  conceal  from  her  the  feelings  she  had 
inspired.  From  that  moment,  to  the  close  of  his  long 
and  eventful  life,  he  never  found  reason  to  regret,  for 
one  instant,  the  judgment  of  his  youth. 

A  similarity  of  tastes,  if  it  could  not  add  strength  to 
an  attachment  founded  upon  higher  principles,  yet  lent 
it  no  mean  ornament.  Affection  may  be  won  by  sweet- 
ness of  disposition,  and  esteem  and  respect  by  talents 
and  by  virtue ;  but  no  other  quality  can  confer  the 
nameless  interest  which  arises  from  a  happy  congruity 
of  tastes  and  of  pursuits.  To  feel  with  one  heart,  to 
judge  with  one  mind,  and  to  look  to  the  same  high  and 
pure  sources  for  happiness,  are  the  most  beautiful  links 
in  the  golden  chain  of  domestic  union.  At  an  early  age, 
Miss  Jane  Griffies  had  evinced  a  great  attachment  to 
literary  pursuits,  especially  to  poetry ;  and  had  selected 
and  arranged,  with  much  taste  and  judgment,  a  collec- 
tion, in  several  volumes,  from  the  works  of  the  most 
popular  writers  of  the  day.  A  journal,  which  she  was 
in  the  habit  of  keeping  at  this  period  of  her  life,  is  also 
a  proof  of  her  love  of  study,  and  of  her  pleasing  and 
simple  style  of  composition.     To  promote  and  encourage 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  33 

her  taste  for  writing,  Mr.  Roscoe,  although  they  both 
resided  in  the  same  town,  induced  her  to  commence  a 
correspondence  with  him ;  which,  continuing  for  many 
years,  until  the  period  of  his  marriage,  forms  an  inte- 
resting record  of  his  views  and  feelings  at  this  period 
of  his  hfe. 

"  Your  journal,"  he  observes,  in  one  of  the  earliest  of 
these  letters,*  "  is  now  discontinued ;  and  as  I  know 
you  have  an  aversion  to  being  idle,  I  should  think 
myself  very  fortunate  could  I  engage  your  leisure  hours 
in  a  communication  of  this  kind.  Nothing  can  be  more 
innocent  —  nothing  more  rational ;  and  though  the  gen- 
erality of  mankind  might  think  it  a  little  silly,  I  hope 
you  and  I  have  too  great  an  opinion  of  our  own  conse- 
quence to  be  guided  by  vidgar  opinions. 

#  #  *  *  * 

"  I  cannot  help  pleasing  myself  with  the  reflection,, 
what  an  infinite  variety  of  subjects  this  intercourse  would 
give  rise  to.  Convinced  of  the  perfect  confidence  which 
subsists  between  us,  how  freely  might  our  thoughts  ex- 
pand themselves  !  The  desire  of  pleasing  might  cause 
some  little  attention  to  the  mode  of  expression,  whilst 
the  certainty  of  a  mutual  indulgence  would  prevent  us 
from  being  apprehensive  about  trivial  inaccuracies. 

"  I  own  this  scheme  begins  to  grow  a  favourite  with 
me,  and  I  beg  my  dearest  Jane  will  not  overthrow  my 
expectations." 

In  a  letter,  written  soon  after  the  foregoing,  he  alludes 
to  the  circumstances  which,  for  the  present,  prevented 
his  marriage. 

"  It  is  a  remark  which  has  been  made  by  us  both, 
that  our  situation  is  a  very  particular  one.     Whilst  we 


*  Dated  March  30,  1777. 


34  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

are  separate,  we  enjoy  every  convenience  that  a  frugal 
competence  can  afford ;  but  there  seems  at  present  to 
be  an  invincible  bar  to  our  united  happiness,  which  time 
only  can  remove.  If,  however,  we  are  unfortunate  in 
this  circumstance,  let  us  be  grateful  to  Providence  for 
the  many  advantages  we  enjoy,  to  make  amends  in  some 
degree  for  the  suspension  of  better  times.  The  frequent 
opportunity  we  have  of  enjoying  each  other's  company 

—  sometimes  in  an  unreserved  and  uninterrupted  ex- 
change of  sentiments  ;  the  similarity  of  our  tastes  and 
dispositions ;  and,  above  all,  the  conviction  we  have  of 
the  lasting  continuance  of  each  other's  affection :  these 
are  advantages  seldom  experienced  amongst  lovers,  and 
which,  if  they  cannot  confer  happiness,  must  at  least 
banish  discontent. 

"  ]My  dearest  Jane  cannot  imagine  how  proud  I  am  to 
reflect,  that  whilst  numbers  around  us  are  almost  every 
day  united  upon  sordid,  capricious,  and  unworthy  mo- 
tives, we  have  chosen  a  nobler  plan,  and  formed  a 
connection  upon  the  most  liberal,  the  most  disinterested 
principles.  Conscious  of  the  rectitude  of  our  conduct, 
and  the  innocence  of  our  hearts,  we  have  nothing  to 
fear ;  but  can  place  our  confidence  in  that  great  Being 
who  never  deceives  those   who  put  their  trust  in   him 

—  that  Being  who  has  ever  been  a  guardian  to  us 
both,  and  who,  I  hope,  will  at  length  crown  his  good- 
ness by  rendering  us  happy  in  ourselves,  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  each  other's  happiness." 

Occasionally  more  gloomy  prospects  of  the  future 
presented  themselves,  and  it  was  with  difliculty  that  he 
reconciled  himself  to  his  situation.  — "  It  would  be  hn- 
possible  for  me  to  attempt  to  write  on  any  other  subject, 
wliilsi  I  feel  so  nuich  anxiety  from  tlie  thouglit  of  our 
unfortunate  and  liopeless  situation.     Deprived  as  we  are 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  35 

of  almost  the  most  distant  prospect  of  an  union  that  can 
promise  a  probability  of  happiness,  how  can  our  attach- 
ment be  unembittered  ?  It  is  in  vain  that  I  love  my 
Jane  with  the  most  unreserved  affection,  or  that  she 
assures  me  of  a  return  of  my  passion.  Obstacles  that 
appear  insurmountable  forbid  us  to  indulge  the  thought 
of  a  more  endearing  connection. 

"  It  is  but  of  late  that  I  have  felt  the  full  force  of  this 
misfortune.  Always  ready  to  flatter  myself,  I  imagined 
a  time  might  come  that  would  be  more  favourable  to 
our  wishes.  That  expectation  now  subsides  ;  and  in  the 
prospect  of  my  future  life  I  see  no  object  that  can 
reasonably  induce  me  to  desire  its  continuance." 

The  pain  which  the  postponement  of  his  hopes  oc- 
casioned, was,  however,  alleviated  by  the  reflection,  that 
the  self-denial  he  practised  enabled  him  to  support  those 
whom  nature  and  fortune  had  made  dependent  upon  his 
industry. 

^'  Hitherto,"  he  observes,  in  a  letter  written  during  the 
same  year,  "  my  path  through  life  has  been  clouded 
with  anxiety ;  and  though  the  pleasures  of  love  and  of 
friendship  have  at  times  raised  me  above  the  recollec- 
tion of  unhappiness,  the  consciousness  of  my  situation 
always  returns  with  additional  uneasiness ;  yet,  my 
dearest  Jane,  think  not  I  blame  the  dispensations  of  that 
Being,  whose  goodness  to  me  has  been  manifested 
throughout  my  whole  life.  If  my  own  situation  is  not 
the  most  desirable,  it  is  with  no  common  degree  of 
satisfaction  that  I  reflect,  I  have  been  enabled,  so  far,  to 
screen  a  helpless  parent,  and  a  deserving  sister,  from  the 
hardships  of  an  unfeeling  world  ;  and  whilst  I  make  that 
reflection,  I  never  can  be  wholly  unhappy." 

The  same  ideas  are  expressed  in  the  following  lines, 
written  about  the  same  period :  — 


36  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

"  Oh !  if,  upon  my  natal  morn, 
Plenty  had  fill'd  her  liberal  horn, 
And  Fate  thy  hopeless  lover  blest 
With  arts  to  win  tliy  gentle  breast ; 
Then  thou,  the  partner  of  his  life, 
Hadst  own'd  the  tender  name  of  wife  ; 
Thy  smiles  had  every  bliss  improved, 
Thy  sympathy  each  care  removed, 
Thy  calm  advice  his  passions  sway'd. 
Thine  hand,  in  sickness,  rais'd  his  head ; 
Whilst  he,  Avith  love's  pervading  eyes, 
Had  mark'd  thine  embryo  wishes  rise, 
And  ere  to  full  perfection  brought, 
Precluded  every  anxious  thought. 

"  But  Heaven  forbade  —  some  happier  youth, 
(Oh,  may  he  equal  me  in  truth !) 
Born  under  favouring  stars,  shall  gain 
That  heart  thy  Roscoe  loved  in  vain  — 
For  him  that  candid  smile  shall  rise. 
On  him  shall  beam  those  lucid  eyes  ; 
His  ears  those  much  loved  accents  bless, 
And  his  be  every  fond  caress. 
—  Oh,  may  he  know  thy  worth,  and  own 
A  soul  to  love  that  worth  when  known; 
Whilst  I  for  humbler  views  resign 
Each  flattering  hope  that  once  was  mine ; 
Resolved,  whilst  penury  remains, 
To  seek  no  partners  in  my  pains. 
But  thankful  still,  if  Heaven  supply 
The  hard  earn'd  fruits  of  industry, 
Enough  to  soothe  a  sister's  fears. 
And  screen  a  parent's  sinking  years." 

Many  poetical  pieces  are  scattered  throiigli  tliis  cor- 
respondence. "  I  must  yet,"  he  says,  in  a  letter,  dated 
the  9th  of  May,  1777,  "  copy  you  a  sonnet,  if  1  have 
room,  which  I  suppose  some  of  my  brethren  would  call 
an  extempore,  as  it  has  been  fabricated  in  about  ten 
minutes :  — 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  37 

"  O  my  loved  Julia!  in  whose  tender  breast 

Each  fairer  virtue  ever  finds  a  place, 

And  every  milder  charm  and  softer  grace, 
With  each  ennobling  passion  loves  to  rest ; 
Thou  who,  in  humble  state,  canst  boast  a  mind 

In  loftiest  spheres  that  might  applauded  move, 
Yet  shrinking  from  the  public  gaze,  to  find 

The  warmer  transports  of  domestic  love  — 
Like  some  fair  flower,  that,  hid  from  human  eye, 

Pours  all  its  fragrance  on  the  trackless  vale, 

Has  thy  unsullied  life  its  vernal  glow 
Accomplished  —  and  that  happier  shepherd  I, 

To  whom  kind  Heaven  the  treasure  did  reveal. 

Dearer  than  every  gift  its  kindness  could  bestow." 

Occasionally  a  few  verses  of  a  lighter  and  livelier 
character  are  interspersed,  as  in  the  following  parody  of 
his  favourite  Shenstone.  —  "I  think  I  some  time  since 
promised  to  make  you  a  present  of  an  inkstand,  and  I 
have  accordingly  got  one  for  you ;  but  when  I  once 
begin  to  rhyme,  I  never  know  where  to  leave  off,  so 
must  present  it  in  verse  :  — 

"  A  present  I  've  bought  for  my  fair, 
An  inkstand  of  curious  device, 
But  to  tell  what  it  cost  I  '11  forbear. 
She  '11  say  't  was  a  barbarous  price. 

"  For  he  ne'er  could  be  true,  she  averr'd, 

Who  in  nicknacks  his  money  would  spend. 
And  I  lov'd  her  the  more  when  I  heard 
Such  savingness  at  her  tongue's  end." 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1778,  Miss  Jane  Griffies 
visited  London,  where  she  had  an  opportunity  of  grati- 
fying the  literary  tastes  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  by  assisting  him 
■  in  the  collecting  of  his  library,  which,  from  his  earliest 
youth,  had  been  one  of  his  chief  pleasures.  "  Let  me 
know,"  she  says,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  him  soon  after 

VOL.  I.  4 


38  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

her  arrival,  ''  what  particular  books  of  the  Elzevir  editions 
I  must  buy,  and  the  extent  of  the  price,  as  I  called  at  a 
place  where  there  will  be  some  in  a  few  days."  In  a 
subsequent  letter  she  sends  him  a  list  of  such  books  as 
she  thouirht  would  be  suitable  to  his  collection.  ''I  am 
obliged,"  he  observes  in  his  answer,  "  beyond  measure, 
by  your  kindness  in  sending  me  the  list  of  books ;  in- 
deed, my  dear  Jane,  there  is  nothing  gives  a  more  indis- 
putable proof  of  affection,  than  those  little  attentions  to 
the  pursuits  and  inclinations  of  each  other  which  have 
long  marked  our  connection,  and  in  which  I  hope  you 
have  never  found  me  deficient."  —  "I  thank  you,"  he 
says,  in  another  letter,  "  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken 
in  procuring  and  sending  me  the  list  of  Elzevirs  fi'om 
Otridge,  which  I  have  looked  over ;  but  they  are  so 
extremely  dear,  that  I  really  cannot  find  in  my  heart  to 
purchase  any.  I  could  like  Cicero  vastly,  but  three 
guineas  is  a  most  enormous  price  for  ten  volumes  not 
above  the  breadth  of  my  three  fingers.  I  this  day  got  a 
catalogue  published  by  Lockyer  Davis,  in  Holborn,  out 
of  which  I  should  take  it  as  a  very  particular  favour  if 
you  would  get  me  the  undermentioned  books.  If  it  is 
convenient,  I  would  have  you  send  them  the  first  oppor- 
tunity, as  I  fear  they  will  otherwise  be  gone,  and  I  am 
particularly  anxious  about  the  first  book.  *  *  *  Should 
you  get  the  above,  or  any  of  them,  you  will  be  so  kind, 
if  you  dare  venture  (which  indeed  I  have  no  right  to 
expect)  to  pay  for  them,  and  get  the  bookseller  to  send 
them  to  the  next  wagon,  directed  to  me." 

While  Miss  Griffies  was  residing  in  London,  the  lady 
who  had  supplied  the  place  of  the  mother  whom  she 
had  lost  in  her  infancy,  was  seized  with  an  alarming  ill- 
ness, and  it  became  the  duty  of  Mr.  Roscoe  to  commu- 
nicate  the   distressinc  intelliirence  of  her  sickness,  and 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  39 

subsequently  of  her  death.  This  portion  of  the  cor- 
respondence iUustrates  so  well  a  peculiar  quality  of  Mr. 
Roscoe's  mind,  —  the  firmness  and  resignation  with 
which  he  ever  submitted  to  the  inevitable  misfortunes 
of  life,  —  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  omit  it. 

"  As  I  cannot  write  on  any  other  subject,  whilst  I  have 
any  circumstance  to  communicate  which  can  in  the  least 
degree  affect  your  peace  of  mind,  I  am  under  a  necessity 
of  acquainting  you  that  for  these  three  days  past  Mrs. 
Wilson  has  been  very  low  and  poorly,  and  from  her 
great  age  and  natural  weakness,  there  is,  'in  my  opinion, 
great  reason  to  apprehend  she  cannot  get  over  any 
considerable  length  of  time.  We  are  not  without  hope 
that  a  few  days  may  restore  her  to  her  usual  state  of 
health,  as  you  know  she  has  often  sudden  complaints, 
which  she  as  speedily  gets  the  better  of.  But  should 
it  be  otherwise  ordered,  I  trust  you  will  submit  to  the 
appointments  of  Providence  without  murmuring  at  its 
dispensations ;  and,  instead  of  indulging  an  excess  of 
grief  (equally  injurious  to  your  health  and  inexcusable 
in  a  moral  view),  will  return  thanks  to  the  Author  of  all 
good  for  the  length  of  days  this  good  woman  has  en- 
joyed, and  the  many  comforts  she  has  equally  received 
and  communicated  for  such  a  length  of  time.  Whatever 
the  sincerest  affection  and  kindest  tenderness  could  do 
for  her,  I  have  been  a  witness  she  has  long  experienced. 
And  to  add  to  her  former  blessings,  she  has  not  even 
now  the  least  degree  of  pain,  nor  makes  the  least  com- 
plaint, and  her  death  (whenever  it  happens)  will,  I  ap- 
prehend, be  as  calm,  easy,  and  imperceptible,  as  a  person 
falling  asleep.  Tell  me,  then,  what  more  is  to  be  wished 
for,  unless  we  were  impious  enough  to  desire  that  she 
should  never  die?" 


40  LIFE     OF     A\  I  L  L  I  A  M     R  O  S  C  O  E  . 

The  next  Ictier  communicates  the  account  of  jNIrs. 
Wilson's  death. 

'"  It  is  now  my  painful  office  to  give  you  the  melan- 
choly information  that  Mrs.  Wilson  is  no  more.  She 
died  ahout  two  o'clock  this  afternoon,  without  a  strugtile 
or  even  a  sigh,  and  will  undouhtedly  now  partici])ate  in 
that  happiness  which  God  has  ap])ointed,  as  the  reward 
of  a  life  spent  in  undissemhled  goodness,  in  usefulness 
and  innocence. 

"  If  in  this  painful  moment  you  perform  tliat  duty 
which  you  owe  to  yourself,  to  your  friends,  and  tlie 
memory  of  the  deceased,  you  will  call  your  reason,  and 
even  your  affection  to  the  living,  to  yom*  assistance,  and 
submit,  with  a  calm  and  humble  resignation,  to  an  event 
which  was  alone  in  the  power  of  Providence,  and  which 
you  had  every  reason  to  expect  could  not  be  far  distant ; 
and  instead  of  repining  at  the  dis])ensation,  yoin*  emotions 
should  be  only  those  of  gratitude  to  God  for  his  kind- 
ness to  her  through  a  long  and  happy  life,  and  his 
greater  kindness  in  allotting  to  her  an  easy  and  tranquil 
death. 

*'  It  is  not,  my  dearest  Jane,  that  I  would  \vish  you  to 
repress  entirely  those  emotions  of  tenderness  whicli  a 
heart  sensible  as  yours  must  feel  on  the  loss  of  a  person 
so  deservedly  dear  to  you.  Nature  will  not  be  restrained 
by  the  intrusion  of  cold  advice  and  unfeeling  reasoning; 
and  where  we  are  deej)ly  wounded,  we  nuist  dee])ly  feel. 
Yet,  my  dearest  girl,  the  severest  sorrow  has  its  inter- 
vals ;  and  it  is  at  these  moments  I  would  wisli  you  to 
consider  those  favourable  circumstances  in  this  event 
which  I  have  before  pointed  out  to  you,  and  which 
cannot  fall  of  affording  you  real  consolation.  Your  sis- 
ters bear  the  event  with  resignation,  and,  as  they  have 
nothing  to  feel  for  the  deceased,  only  distress  themselves 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE,  41 

on  your  account.  As  I  am  certain  you  bear  them  the 
sincerest  affection,  this  will  be  another  inducement  to 
you  to  avoid  indulging  an  excess  of  grief. 

"  I  must  again  repeat  to  you,  do  not,  by  any  means, 
harbour  a  thought  of  leaving  London  till  the  time  you 
intended.  There  needs  no  reason  to  convince  you 
how  fruhless  such  a  scheme  would  be ;  and,  I  again 
repeat,  what  almost  irks  me  to  say,  we  should  be  sorry 
to  see  you,  as  it  will  be  depriving  yourself  of  pleasure 
to  answer  no  purpose." 

In  a  letter  w^ritten  a  few  days  aftenvards,  he  points  out 
the  uselessness  of  immoderate  grief. 

"But  you  will,  perhaps,  tell  me  that  your  painful  sen- 
sations are  not  entu-ely  selfish ;  that  they  have  a  reference 
to  the  loss  you  have  lately  sustained ;  and  that  you 
lament  the  respected  person  who  has  been  your  guardian 
from  your  infancy.  Need  I  urge  any  thing  to  convince 
you  of  the  weakness  and  folly  of  such  conduct  ?  As  w^ell 
might  you  lament  the  condition  of  a  friend,  who,  from  a 
state  of  precarious  indigence,  pain,  and  sickness,  was  sud- 
denly restored  to  health  and  to  affluence.  When  neither 
yourself  nor  the  person  you  grieve  for,  are,  in  any  respect, 
objects  of  compassion,  but,  on  the  contrary,  in  a  state  of 
prosperity,  how  can  you  find  food  for  sorrow  ? 

"  Another,  and,  perhaps,  a  more  efficacious  w^ay,  will 
be  for  you  to  mingle  in  the  amusements  and  diversions  of 
the  gay  place  you  are  now  in ;  and  that,  not  merely  as  a 
spectator,  but  as  a  partaker.  There  is,  perhaps,  a  kind 
of  delicacy  which  represents  a  conduct  of  this  kind  as  too 
little  respectful  to  the  memory  of  the  person  we  lament ; 
but  it  is  certainly  a  false  kind  of  delicacy,  as  it  serves  only 
to  make  ourselves  miserable  without  a  shadow  of  advan- 
tage to  our  lost  friends,  who,  we  must  suppose,  if  they 

now  superintend  our  earthly  concerns,  would  be  glad  to 
4* 


42  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

see  us  clieerful  and  lia})py  in  the  joint  pursuit  of  our 
pleasure  and  our  duty,  rather  than  wasting  our  time,  our 
heahli,  and  our  peace  of  mind,  in  vain  and  fruitless,  not 
to  say  criminal,  lamentations." 

As  the  professional  engagements  of  Mi\  Roscoe  in- 
creased, and  demanded  an  additional  devotion  of  his  time 
and  attention,  he  found  it  necessary  to  circumscribe,  in 
some  detrree,  those  more  at^reeable  studies  which  he  had 
hitherto  pursued  with  so  hvely  a  relish.  His  great  object 
now  was,  to  make  himself  sufficiently  independent  to 
gratify  the  first  wish  of  his  heart ;  and  with  this  view  he 
applied  himself  with  unremitting  assiduity  to  the  discharge 
of  his  professional  duties.  His  industry  and  intelligence 
soon  won  the  regard  of  his  jiartner,  Mr.  Aspinall,  with 
whom  he  lived  upon  terms  of  the  most  friendly  under- 
standing. ""  1  am  extremely  happy,"  he  says,  in  a 
letter  written  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1779,  ''  in  my 
present  connection ;  my  partner  is  one  of  the  most  well- 
behaved,  and,  at  the  same  time,  one  of  the  most  friendly 
hearted,  sincere  men  I  ever  met  with,  and  has,  on  every 
occasion,  behaved  to  me  with  a  great  deal  of  affection 
and  generosity  :  as  I  know  his  temper  and  his  wishes, 
it  gives  me  an  oi)portunity  of  re[)aying  his  kindness, 
which  I  should  think  myself  ungrateful  if  I  neglected." 
In  the  same  letter  he  states  his  own  views  with  regard 
to  his  settlement  in  life,  from  which  it  will  be  seen 
how  free  his  mind  was  from  any  feelings  of  vulgar 
ambition. 

''  You  know  my  sentiments  witii  regard  lo  j)ecimiary 
matters,  and  I  ho])e  the  ])rinciples  and  grounds  of  my 
0])inions  are  not  entirely  imaginary.  My  utmost  ambi- 
tion would  be  to  attain,  by  the  industry  and  labour  of 
my  early  days,  such  a  com])ctency  as  would  enable 
those    around    me,    and   with   whom  1  should    be    most 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  43 

nearly  connected,  to  know  themselves  secure  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  in  any  event,  and  permit  me  to 
enjoy  a  few  tranquil  years  of  leisure  and  retirement, 
under  the  guidance  of  my  own  native  and  unrestrained 
disposition ;  which  has  ever  had  a  -tendency  to  avoid 
crowds,  noise,  and  contention,  in  the  company  of  a  few, 
very  few,  chosen  friends ;  whilst  the  unabating  ardour 
of  conjugal  affection,  increased  and  refined  by  years, 
should  add  a  double  relish  to  every  enjoyment.  To 
you  I  need  not  point  out  the  advantages  of  this  plan, 
and  the  good  effects  which  may  arise  from  a  steady  pur- 
suit of  it ;  and  I  flatter  myself  I  have  shown  some 
adherence  to  it  already,  in  quitting  some  enticing  and 
pleasing  pursuits,  which  must  have  inevitably  interfered 
with  my  general  design.  It  is  true,  the  amusements  of 
poetry  and  the  incense  of  praise  constitute  of  themselves 
some  degree  of  happiness,  and,  it  may  be  said,  happi- 
ness should  never  be  slighted.  But,  alas !  I  am  a 
traveller ;  and  before  I  intend  to  indulge  myself,  I 
purpose  to  get  to  the  end  of  my  journey.  If  every 
beautiful  prospect,  and  every  shepherd's  pipe,  must 
allure  me  out  of  my  road,  what  probability  is  there  that 
I  shall  ever  find  myself  at  rest  ? " 

"  How  should  I  rejoice,"  says  his  correspondent,  in 
her  answer  to  the  above  letter,  "  were  your  circumstan- 
ces such  as  allowed  the  indulgence  of  those  pursuits 
so  consistent  with  your  genius,  so  agreeable  to  your 
taste  ;  but  though  it  may  be  prudent  to  make  a  sacrifice 
of  them  at  present,  yet  I  hope  it  will  prove  a  momentary 
one,  and  that,  after  a  short  time,  an  establishment  in 
your  profession  will  yield  you  more  leisure,  and  lead  to 
the  renewal  of  those  pleasures  you  now  relinquish." 

The  circumstances  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  situation  at  this 
time  are  alluded  to  in  a  very  pleasing  manner  by  his 
correspondent,  Mr.  Barton  :  — 


44  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

*'  It  is  time  to  say  something  with  regard  to  yourself. 
Have  vou  yet  recovered  from  your  lameness?  How 
are  you  going  forward  in  your  new  connection  ?     When 

did    you    hear  from   London  ?     And  w  hen ?     I 

perceive  you  have  already  filled  up  the  blank,  and  I 
hope  the  question  will  ere  long  be  an  unnecessary  one. 
Need  I  add  (but  I  am  sure  I  need  not),  that  whenever 
the  endearing  connection  takes  place,  I  most  sincerely 
wish  it  may  be  attended  with  all  the  happiness  that  can 
(and  surely  the  most  substantial  happiness  may)  result 
from  it.  In  some  cases,  too,  we  may,  I  think,  most 
justly,  do  more  than  w^ish  —  we  may  both  hope  for  and 
expect  this  happiness.  Where  cultivated  understand- 
ings, sensibility  of  heart,  and,  above  all,  an  honest, 
undissembled,  mutual  attachment,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
married  state,  happiness,  and  that  of  the  most  refined 
and  rational  kind,  cannot  possibly  be  wanting ;  may  it 
be  yours,  my  worthy  friend,  to  find,  as  I  am  well  con- 
vinced you  deserve  it." 

At  length  the  period  arrived,  w-hen  the  state  of  his 
business  permitted  the  union  which  had  so  long  been 
the  object  of  his  wishes ;  and  on  the  22d  of  February, 
1781,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jane  Griffies,  at  St. 
Ann's  Church,  Liverpool.  For  some  years  after  this 
event,  he  devoted  himself  assiduously  to  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  though  without  altogether  neglecting 
the  studies  more  agreeable  to  his  taste.  Notwith- 
standing the  additional  expense  of  his  new  establish- 
ment, he  continued  to  add  to  his  collection  of  books ; 
and  "  a  sumptuous  edition  of  Ariosto,"  which  he  had 
commissioned  his  friend  Mr.  Barton  to  purchase  for 
him  about  this  time,  aj^pears  to  have  revived  that  taste 
for  Italinn  literature  which  he  had  derived  from  his 
friend  I'rancis  Holden. 


LIFE     OF      WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  45 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1782,  Mr.  Roscoe  visited 
London,  on  professional  business,  and  took  advantage 
of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded  him,  to  add,  so  far 
as  his  slender  resources  extended,  to  his  small  collec- 
tion of  books   and   prints. 

*'  Our  trial,"  he  says  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Roscoe, 
"  cannot  possibly  come  on  till  the  28th  or  29th  of  this 
month ;  so  that  I  am  likely  to  have  enough  of  London, 
having  already  made  some  discoveries  which  many  wise 
heads  have  made  out  before  me,  and  handed  to  pos- 
terity by  the  name  of  proverbs,  such  as  "  Happiness 
begins  at  home,"  — "  Man  never  is,  but  always  to  be 
blest ; "  and  those  lines  of  Goldsmith  certainly  haunt 
me,  —  "Even  whilst  fashion's  brightest  scenes,"  &:c. — 
but  it  is  yet  time  enough  to  make  complaints. 

"  I  have  laid  out  about  forty  shillings  in  prints,  and 
find  no  inclination  to  any  more  extravagance  in  that 
article.  My  book  account  already  amounts  to  a  good 
deal  more,  but  I  trust  I  shall  have  prudence  enough 
to  restrain  it  in  decent  bounds.  Be  assured,  I  am  not 
without  a  full  sense  of  the  danger  I  run  in  the  many 
temptations  which  surround  me  in  this  line,  but  my 
affection  for  you  is  the  great  security  which  must  pre- 
vent me  from  trespassing  in  this  respect  as  well  as  in 
all  others." 

"  This  morning,"  says  Mrs.  Roscoe,  in  answer  to 
the  above  letter,  "  I  received  your  letter,  and  sincerely 
thank  you  for  every  kind  consideration ;  but  do  not 
restrain  yourself  too  much ;  and  do  me  the  justice  to 
believe,  that  whenever  I  suggest  a  plan  of  economy 
it  does  not  proceed  from  narrow  motives,  but  from 
a  consciousness  of  the  many  dependencies  upon  us. 
Heaven  has  hitherto  favoured  us  with  unlooked-for  bless- 
ings, and,  I  trust,  will  continue  the  enjoyment  of  them. 


46  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

To  doubt  its   providence  would  be  tbe  bighest  ingrati- 
tude." 

Even  tbe  very  moderate  expense  upon  wliicb  Mr. 
Roscoe  at  tbis  time  ventured  in  gratifying  bis  taste  for 
Hterature  and  art,  was  a  source  of  anxiety  to  bim. 
"  Tbere  is  one  circumstance,"  be  observes,  in  a  letter 
addressed,  during  bis  visit  to  London,  to  Mrs.  Roscoe, 
"  wbicb  is  a  continual  mortification  to  me,  viz.  tbe 
tbougbt  tbat  I  am  not  likely  to  get  any  tbing  by  my 
journey  exclusive  of  tbe  expenses  I  bave  imprudently 
gone  to  in  buying  tbings  wbicb  I  migbt  very  well  bave 
done  witbout.  In  books  and  prints  I  bave  spent  full  as 
mucb  as  I  proposed,  but  bave  now  put  a  stop  to  it,  and 
sball  keep  myself  witbin  bounds.  Wbat  I  bave  pur- 
cbased  besides,  I  intend  to  convert  into  money  on  my 
arrival  at  Liverpool,  wbicb  I  can  do  witbout  losing  a 
fartbing." 

"  You  seem,"  observes  Mrs.  Roscoe,  in  answer  to  tbe 
foregoing  letter,  "  to  consider  tbe  present  expenses  of 
your  journey  as  extravagant ;  but  tbis  I  cannot  admit  of. 
You  may  not  bave  anotber  opportunity  of  visiting  Lon- 
don again  for  a  long  time,  and  a  little  indulgence  is  only 
reasonable ;  but  I  perfectly  agree  witb  you  as  to  tbe 
necessity  of  a  general  economy.  By  a  strict  attention 
to  it  now,  we  sball  open  a  patb  to  competence,  and  to 
that  easy  independence  so  desirable  to  us  botb.  Wben 
I  mention  competence,  you  know  my  ideas  are  not  ex- 
tensive. I  only  wisb  to  be  in  a  situation  to  render  a 
service  to  otbers  witbout  tbe  disagreeable  reflection  of 
injuring  tbe  interests  of  tbose  wbo  depend  on  us  alone. 
I  bave  sometimes  been  afraid  you  bave  tbougbt  me 
sordid  and  ungenerous  ;  but  indeed  I  never  valued 
money  for  itself." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  47 

During  this  visit  to  the  metropoHs,  he  was  present  at 
Westminster  Hall  on  the  occasion  when  Lord  Mansfield, 
in  imitation  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  North,  desired 
the  attorneys  to  proceed  in  the  absence  of  counsel. 

"  I  am  just  returned  from  Westminster  Hall,  and  have 
seen  Lord  Mansfield  trying  causes  without  a  single  coun- 
sel in  court.  The  attorneys  pleaded  for  themselves, 
and  most  extraordinary  figures  some  of  them  cut.  This 
EU'ises  from  an  obstinacy  on  both  sides,  between  Lord 
Mansfield  and  the  counsel ;  the  latter  think  it  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  holiday  on  Whit  Monday  and  Tues- 
day, while  his  Lordship  thinks  it  better  to  despatch,  as 
fast  as  he  can,  the  causes  which  come  before  him,  and  to 
which  every  delay  adds  a  considerable  expense." 

The  taste  of  Mr.  Roscoe  for  elegant  literature  was 
early  associated  with  a  love  of  art.  When  about  twenty 
years  of  age,  he  had  been,  as  already  stated,  one  of  the 
most  active  members  of  the  Society  for  promoting  the 
Arts  of  Painting,  Design,  &c.  at  Liverpool,  and  had 
celebrated  the  institution  by  the  publication  of  an  ode. 
From  the  want  of  efficient  support,  this  society  had  only 
a  transient  existence.  In  the  year  1784,  however,  Mr. 
Roscoe  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Daulby,  and  some  other 
gentlemen,  endeavoured  to  create  a  taste  for  the  arts  in 
Liverpool  by  the  revival  of  the  "  Society  for  promoting 
Painting  and  Design,"  and  by  an  exhibition  of  paintings 
and  drawings  under  the  patronage  of  that  society.  *     Mr. 

*  The  Catalogues  of  the  two  first  exhibitions  of  the  society,  in 
1783  and  1787,  are  now  before  the  writer,  and  form  interesting  me- 
morials of  the  history  of  Liverpool.  Mr.  Henry  Blundell,  of  Ince, 
was  the  president  for  the  first  year,  and  Mr.  Roscoe  the  vice-presi- 
dent ;  for  the  second  year,  Mr.  Ashton  was  president,  and  Mr.  Roscoe 
formed  one  of  the  committee.  The  exhibitors  are  chiefly  natives  of 
Liverpool :  but  a  picture  by  Fuseli,  two  by  Barrett,  and  two  by 
Stothard,  appear  in  the  first  exhibition ;  and  in  the  second,  the  names 


48  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     R  O  S  C  O  E . 

Roscoe  ventured  to  introduce  into  tlie  exhibition  one  or 
two  drawings  from  his  own  pencil ;  and  the  ticket  of 
admission  was  etched  by  his  liand.  Through  his  means, 
also,  Sir  Josluia  Reynolds  was  interested  in  the  under- 
taking. •'  I  am  very  ijlad,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  October.  1784,  "to  hear  of  the  suc- 
cess of  your  exliibition,  and  sliall  always  wisli  to  con- 
tribute to  it  to  the  best  of  my  power.'* 

One  of  the  chief  objects  of  this  society  was  the 
diffusion  of  information  on  the  subject  of  art  by  means 
of  lectures ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  1785,  several 
lectures  "  On  the  History  of  Art,"  and  ''  on  the  Knowl- 
edge and  Use  of  Prints,  and  the  History  and  Progress  of 
tlie  Art  of  Engraving,"  were  delivered  by  Mr.  Roscoe. 
At  the  conclusion  of  one  of  the  latter  lectures,  he  took 
the  opportunity  of  applauding  the  genius  of  Fuseli,  at 
that  time  little  known.  He  speaks  of  liim  as  "  an  artist 
by  no  means  inferior  to  any  of  those  who  dignify  the 
present  Royal  Institution  ;  and  though,"  he  adds,  '•  the 
public  are  not  yet  in  possession  of  any  of  his  works  in 
this  line,  I  shall  not  be  apprehensive  of  incurring  any 
future  impeachment  of  my  judgment  when  I  mention 
the  name  of  Fuseli." 

It  was  during  his  visit  to  London  in  178*2,  that  !Mr. 
Roscoe  first  saw  and  admired  the  paintings  of  Fuseli, 
with  whom  he  then  contracted  a  friendship  wliich  was 
cemented  by  numerous  good  offices  towards  tliat  cele- 
brated painter.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Roscoe,  written  at  a 
later  period,  he  mentions  the  pleasure  he  derived  from 
the  society  of  FuseH :  —  ''Last  night  Wakefield  and  I 
got  tea  and  supped  witli  Fuseli,  who  is  in   great  spirits, 


of  Sir    Joshua   Reynolds,    Gainsborough,   Fuseli,   Farrlngton,  and 
Wright  of  Derby,  occur. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  49 

and  very  friendly.  *  ^  *  He  is  a  wonderful  man, 
and  certainly  the  most  agreeable  companion  that  can  be, 
when  pleased ;  and  even  when  not  so,  his  very  anger 
and  resentment  may  be  tolerated  for  the  sake  of  the  wit 
and  hveliness  they  produce." 

Of  the  genius  of  Fuseh  he  had  formed  the  highest 
opinion,  and  from  the  period  of  their  first  acquaintance 
he  became  interested  in  his  success,  and  used  his  influ- 
ence for  him  in  the  disposal  of  his  pictures. 

"  A  letter  from  me,"  says  Fuseh,  in  1783,  — "  a  letter, 
too,  of  acknowledgments  for  your  very  friendly  and 
vigorous  exertions  in  my  favour,  does  not,  perhaps,  come 
with  a  very  good  grace.  I  might,  indeed,  plead  the 
painter's  privilege  with  a  poet,  if  I  knew  not  that  the 
habits  of  a  more  serious  employment  have  made  you  an 
exception  from  the  fraternity  of  Irregulars.  All  I  can 
say  is,  that  I  have  never  forgotten  those  few  agreeable 
moments  spent  with  you  in  London,  and  on  the  road  ; 
and  tliat  the  flattering  hopes  of  being  able  to  see  you 
at  Liverpool  made  me  neglect  writing.  Those  hopes 
have  not  yet  left  me ;  in  the  mean  time  I  shall  make  it 
a  point  to  employ  myself  in  a  manner  not  altogether 
unworthy  of  your  good  wishes  and  encouragements." 

In  the  year  1785,  Fuseh,  on  the  invitation  of  Mr. 
Roscoe,  paid  a  visit  to  Liverpool,  the  recollection  of 
which  appears,  from  his  letters,  to  have  afforded  him 
much  pleasure. 

It  was  about  this  time,  while  his  attention  was  de- 
voted to  the  study  of  art,  that  Mr.  Roscoe  produced  a 
poem  of  some  length,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Origin  of 
Engraving."  This  piece,  which  has  never  been  pub- 
lished, displays  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  dif- 
ferent styles  of  the  great  masters  in  that  branch  of  art, 

VOL.  1.  5 


50  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

and  evinces  no  inconsiderable  poetical  skill  in  the  intro- 
duction of  the  various  descriptions. 

The  following  lines  allude  to  the  revival  of  art  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  and,  with  the  note  appended  to  diem, 
are  curious,  as  showing  the  attachment  of  the  writer, 
even  at  this  period,  to  the  great  subject  which  afterwards 
employed  his  pen  :  — 

"  In  elder  Greece  when  arms  and  science  reign'd, 
The  finer  arts  an  equal  rank  maintain'd ; 
High  'midst  the  rest,  the  Muse  of  Painting  shone, 
And  bade  the  admiring  world  her  wonders  own ; 
To  nature  true,  the  graceful  outline  flow'd, 
With  more  than  life  the  vivid  colours  glow'd ; 
Applauding  nations  saw  witli  grateful  joy, 
And  wealth  and  honours  crown'd  the  fair  employ : 
Yet  whelm'd  amid  the  wreck  of  former  days. 
Lie  the  gay  monuments  of  ancient  praise, 
And  though  revolving  years  have  spared  the  name, 
Dimm'd  is  the  radiance  of  the  painter's  fame. 

Long  droop'd  the  sacred  art  —  but  rose  at  length 
With  brighter  lustre  and  redoubled  strength  ; 
When  great  Lorenzo,*  'midst  his  mild  domain. 
Led  the  gay  Muses  and  their  kindred  train ; 
Then,  as  the  bard  the  imagined  story  drew, 
The  kindling  artist  bade  it  rise  to  view ; 
Till  the  strong  comment  shamed  the  sister  art, 
And  found  a  nearer  passage  to  the  heart." 

*  "  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  called  the  Magnificent,  (born  in  1448,  died 
in  1492,)  was  the  director  of  the  Florentine  republic  for  uj)\vard3  of 
twenty  years,  and  the  father  of  John  de'  Medici,  afterwards  pope, 
by  the  name  of  Leo  X.  To  the  munificence  and  taste  of  Lorenzo 
is  principally  to  be  attributed  the  sudden  progress  of  the  fine  arts  in 
Italy  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  tliis  is  only  a  small 
part  of  his  praise.  If  a  full  enquiry  be  made  into  his  life  and  char- 
acter, he  will  appear  to  be  not  only  one  of  the  most  extraordinary, 
but,  perhaps,  upon  the  whole,  the  most  extraordinary  man  that  any 
age  or  nation  has  produced." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  51 

For  several  years  Mr.  Roscoe  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  amusing  himself,  during  the  hours  of  leisure  which 
his  profession  afforded,  by  forming  a  small  collection  of 
engravings,  in  the  study  of  which  he  found  great  pleasure. 
The  opportunities  supplied  by  his  occasional  visits  to 
London  were  gladly  taken  advantage  of;  and  as  the 
indulgence  of  the  taste  was  at  that  period  less  expensive 
than  at  present,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  such  a  col- 
lection as  enabled  him  to  prosecute  with  gratification 
and  advantage  the  study  of  this  branch  of  art.  The 
late  Mr.  Joseph  Strutt  being  at  this  time  engaged  in 
preparing  for  pubhcation  his  "  Biographical  Dictionary 
of  Engravers,"  Mr.  Roscoe  communicated  to  him  some 
observations  on  the  art,  the  receipt  of  which  Mr.  Strutt 
acknowledges  in  the  following  letter,  dated  in  1785 :  — 

^^  I  received  your  obliging  letter  last  night,  with  the 
excellent  Essay  on  the  art  of  engraving,  for  which  I 
return  you  my  most  sincere  thanks.  The  observations 
contained  in  it  are,  as  you  remark,  entirely  new ;  and, 
from  the  mode  of  their  arrangement,  precisely  what  are 
highly  necessary  to  precede  a  work  like  mine.  As  you 
have  kindly  permitted  me  to  make  use  of  them,  I  shall 
certainly  give  them  to  the  public  in  the  form  in  wdiich 
they  stand,  which  cannot  possibly,  as  I  conceive,  be 
altered  for  the  better ;  and  I  hope  you  will  favour  me, 
whenever  you  can  find  leisure,  with  any  observations 
that  may  strike  you,  either  concerning  the  art  itself,  or 
any  of  the  artists ;  for  every  assistance  from  a  person  of 
your  taste  and  judgment  will  contribute  greatly  to  the 
enriching  of  the  work,  which  of  course,  as  a  mere  dic- 
tionary, must  be  exceedingly  dry." 

In  the  Dissertation  which  is  prefixed  to  his  Dictionary, 
Mr.  Strutt  has  accordingly  availed  himself  of  a  portion 
of  the  Essay  thus  furnished,  which  he  introduces  with 


52  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

this  remark :  — "  With  respect  to  the  use  and  excel- 
lency of  the  art  of  engravin«(,  I  beg  leave  to  subjoin  the 
following  observations.  They  were  drawn  up  by  a 
gentleman  of  great  taste,  and  are  the  result  of  a  critical 
examination  of  the  greatest  masters ;  and  will,  I  trust, 
be  still  more  acceptable  to  the  public,  as  they  are  not 
the  remarks  of  an  engraver,  but  of  a  gentleman  no  other- 
ways  interested  in  the  cause,  than  as  a  man  of  science 
and  a  lover  of  the  arts." 

It  was  at  one  time  the  intention  of  Mr.  Strutt  to  add 
a  third  volume  to  his  Dictionary,  in  the  preparation  of 
which  he  proposed  to  avail  himself  of  the  assistance  of 
Mr.  Roscoe.  "  I  thank  you,"  he  says,  m  a  letter  to  the 
latter,  "  for  your  obliging  permission  to  insert  your  name 
in  the  list  of  my  benefactors,  but  still  more  for  the  name  of 
friend  which  you  have  kindly  added  ;  and  I  sincerely  wish 
it  was  in  my  power  in  any  manner  to  return  those  singular 
favours  and  repeated  marks  of  friendship  which  I  have 
received  at  your  hands.  But  instead  of  paying  off  any 
arrears,  I  am  running  still  deeper  in  debt,  as  you  will 
find,  when  I  add,  that  a  third  volume  must,  of  necessity, 
follow  these  two,  exactly  upon  the  plan  you  have  pro- 
posed. It  will  be  preceded  by  a  dissertation  upon 
etching  in  general,  and  painters'  etchings  in  particular, 
with  complete  (or  as  nearly  so  as  possible)  catalogues 
of  the  works  of  the  greatest  masters.  This,  as  you  justly 
observe,  may  either  be  connected  with,  or  purcliased 
separate  from,  the  Dictionary." 

In  consequence  of  this  communication,  Mr.  Roscoe 
was  induced  to  transmit  to  his  correspondent  an  Essay 
under  the  title  of  "  Remarks  on  Etchinir  "  and  ''  An 
Idea  of  a  Chronological  Collection  of  Eno-raviuirs  "  in- 
tended  to  form  part  of  the  projected  third  volume  of  the 
^'  Dictionary  of  Engravers." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  53 

^'  I  received  your  kind  present,"  says  Mr.  Strutt, 
*'  with  the  obhging  letter  enclosed  in  it.  I  have  dili- 
gently examined  the  whole  of  the  work,  and  think  it  is 
drawn  up  in  an  admirable  manner;  neither  could  it 
possibly  have  been  comprised  in  a  less  compass.  I  want 
words  to  express  my  gratitude  to  you  for  the  trouble  you 
have  been  at  on  my  account.  I  shall  certainly  print  it 
as  it  stands,  with  very  few  additions  to  the  names  of  the 
artists  ;  the  number  of  which,  with  the  greatest  propriety, 
is  made  as  short  as  it  can  be." 

Engagements  of  another  nature,  into  which  Mr.  Strutt 
entered,  prevented  him  from  carrying  on  his  design  of 
adding  to  his  Dictionary  ;  and  the  contributions  from 
Mr.  Roscoe  were  returned  to  him,  with  the  following 
observations :  —  "I  am  highly  obliged  to  you  for  your 
kind  offers,  and  should  receive  them  with  the  warmest 
gratitude  if  I  was  proceeding  with  the  work,  as  I  am 
well  assured  they  would  form  a  very  valuable  part  of 
it.  But  let  me  endeavour  to  prevail  upon  you  to  give 
then*  to  the  public  from  your  own  hand.  I  mean  your 
"Remarks  on  Etching;"  to  which  may  properly  be 
added,  the  "  Idea  of  a  Chronological  Collection,"  &c. 
Any  kind  of  information  that  I  can  possibly  supply  you 
with,  you  may  at  all  times  command.  I  again  add, 
that  I  am  confident  you  will  greatly  oblige  the  public 
by  the  publication.  It  will  make  a  complete  volume  by 
itself,  and  the  usefulness  of  such  a  work  need  not  be 
pointed  out." 

In  the  course  of  this  year  (1784),  Mr.  Roscoe  was 
elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  Literary  and  Philo- 
sophical Society  of  Manchester.  His  diploma  bears  the 
signatures  of  Dr.  Percival  and  Dr.  Henry. 


5* 


CHAPTER   III. 

1787—1792. 

Early  opinions  of  Mr.  Roscoe  on  the  subject  of  the  African  slave 
trade  —  his  allusion  to  it  in  the  poem  of  "  Mount  Pleasant."  — 
Publication  of  "  The  Wroncrs  of  Africa  "  —  translated  into  German. 
—  Publication  of  the  *'  General  View  of  the  African  Slave  Trade," 
his  pamphlet  in  answer  to  the  Rev.  Raymund  Harris.  —  Thanks 
of  the  Abolition  Committee.  —  Publication  of  the  "Inquiry  into 
the  Causes  of  the  Insurrection  of  the  Negroes  in  the  Island  of 
St.  Domingo." 

The  African  slave  trade  constituted,  at  this  period, 
a  great  part  of  the  commerce  of  Liverpool.  A  numerous 
body  of  merchants  and  ship-owners,  and  a  still  more 
fonnidable  array  of  masters  of  vessels,  and  sailors,  looked 
to  the  continuance  of  that  traffic  for  tlieir  emolument  or 
their  support.  The  wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  town 
were  supposed  to  depend  chiefly  upon  this  branch  of 
commerce,  and  there  w^ere  few  persons  whose  interests 
were  not,  directly  or  indirectly,  connected  with  the 
prosecution  of  it.  Even  those  whose  employments  had 
no  reference  to  commercial  objects,  found  their  opinions 
and  feelings  ^vith  regard  to  the  traffic  necessarily  affected 
by  the    tone    of  the  society   in    which    they  mingled.* 

*  The  painful  effect  which  the  discussion  of  the  Slave  Question 
occasioned  in  Liverpool  is  described  by  Dr.  Currie,  in  a  letter  written 
in  the  year  1788. — "The  general  discussion  of  the  slavery  of  the 
negroes  has  produced  much  unhappiness  in  Liverpool.  Men  are 
awakinfT  to  tlieir  situation  ;  and  the  struggle  between  interest  and 
liumanity  has  made  great  havoc  in  the  happiness  of  many  families. 
If  I  were  to  attenjpt  to  tell  you  the  hiatory  of  my  own  transactions 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  55 

Under  these  circumstances  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected 
that  Liverpool  should  be  the  place  from  which  a  voice 
should  be  heard  appealing  to  the  world  on  behalf  of  the 
captive  African.  Fortunately,  however,  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Roscoe  remained  unshackled  by  the  prejudices  or 
the  interests  of  those  around  him,  nor  did  any  motives 
of  a  personal  nature  operate  to  prevent  the  expression 
of  his  opinions.  He  had  been  gifted  with  those  strong 
feelings  of  abhorrence  to  injustice,  and  of  resistance  to 
oppression,  which  are  the  great  moral  engines  bestowed 
by  God  upon  man  for  the  maintenance  of  his  virtue  and 
his  freedom.  The  "  aversion  to  compulsion,"  recorded 
by  Mr.  Roscoe  as  one  of  his  earliest  characteristics,  led 
him  in  his  youth  to  form  very  decided  opinions  upon  this 
question,  which,  in  his  after  life,  occupied  much  of  his 
attention,  and  in  which  he  had  ultimately  the  gratification 
of  knowing  that  he  had  laboured  not  unsuccessfully. 
In  his  poem  of  "  Mount  Pleasant,"  which,  though  writ- 
ten in  the  year  1771,  was  not  published  till  the  year 
1777,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  brand  with  the  opprobrium 
it  merited,  the  traffic  in  which  so  large  a  portion  of  his 
fellow  townsmen  were  engaged. 

"  There  Afric's  swarthy  sons  their  toils  repeat, 
Beneath  the  fervors  of  the  noon-tide  heat ; 

in  this  business,  I  should  consume  more  time  than  I  can  spare. 
Altogether,  I  have  felt  myself  more  interested  and  less  happy  than 
is  suited  to  my  other  avocations.  The  attempts  that  are  continually 
made  to  justify  this  gross  violation  of  the  principles  of  justice,  one 
cannot  help  repelling  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  dreadful  to  hold 
an  argument,  where,  if  your  opponent  is  convinced,  he  must  be  made 
miserable."  —  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  135.  * 

In  the  same  letter,  Dr.  Currie  gives  the  history  of  a  short  poem, 
which  appeared  about  this  time,  under  the  title  of  "  The  African," 
in  the  London  papers,  and  which  was  the  joint  production  of  him- 
self and  of  Mr.  Roscoe.  It  has  also  been  printed  in  Mrs.  Riddell's 
'^  Metrical  Miscellany,"  under  the  title  of  "  Maraton." 


56  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Torn  from  each  joy  that  crown'd  their  native  soil, 
No  sweet  reflections  mitigate  tlieir  toil : 
From  morn  to  eve  by  rigorous  hands  opprest, 
Dull  fly  their  hours,  of  every  hope  unblest, 
Till  broke  with  labour,  helpless  and  forlorn. 
From  their  weak  grasp  the  lingering  morsel  torn, 
The  reed-built  hovels'  friendly  shade  denied, 
The  jest  of  folly  and  the  scorn  of  pride  ; 
Drooping  beneath  meridian  suns  they  lie, 
Lift  the  faint  head,  and  bend  the  imploring  eye, 
Till  death  in  kindness  from  the  tortured  breast 
Calls  the  free  spirit  to  the  realms  of  rest. 

Shame  to  mankind !  but  shame  to  Britons  most, 
Who  all  the  sAveets  of  Liberty  can  boast ; 
Yet,  deaf  to  every  human  claim,  deny 
That  bliss  to  others  which  themselves  enjoy ; 
Life's  bitter  draught  Avith  harsher  bitter  fill. 
Blast  every  joy,  and  add  to  every  ill ; 
The  trembling  limbs  with  galling  iron  bind. 
Nor  loose  tlie  heavier  bondage  of  tlie  mind." 

The  writings  of  many  excellent  men,  about  this  period, 
had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  momen- 
tous question  of  the  slave  trade.  Dr.  Beattie,  in  his 
''Essay  on  Truth;"  Wesley,  in  his  "Thoughts  on 
Slavery;"  Adam  Smith,  in  his  "Wealth  of  Nations;" 
and  Paley,  in  his  "Moral  Philosophy;"  had  exposed 
the  cruelty,  the  injustice,  and  tlie  impolicy  of  the  traffic. 
Denunciations  of  its  unchristian  spirit  began  to  be  heard 
from  the  ])ulpit ;  and  the  question  was  brought  before  the 
legislature  in  the  year  1776,  by  Mr.  David  Hartley,  the 
member  for  Hull.  The  opponents  of  the  traffic,  at 
length,  in  the  year  1787,  united  themselves  together  for 
the  purpose  of  rendering  their  opposition  more  effective ; 
and  a  committee  was  formed  in  London,  which  met 
W'eekly,  for  the  ])urpose  of  considering  the  best  means  of 
procurinfj;  tlie  abolition  of  the  trade. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  57 

To  promote  the  same  great  object,  Mr.  Roscoe  took 
up  his  pen ;  and,  in  the  summer  of  1787,  pubhshed  the 
first  part  of  the  "  Wrongs  of  Africa,"  a  poem  designed 
to  awaken  the  feehngs  of  the  people  to  the  horrors 
of  the  slave  system.  The  profits  of  this  poem  were 
presented  by  Mr.  Roscoe  to  the  London  committee, 
through  his  friend,  Mr.  John  Barton,  a  member  of  that 
body.  "  This  circumstance,"  observes  Mr.  Clarkson,  in 
his  ^History  of  the  Abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade,' =* 
"  was  not  only  agreeable,  inasmuch  as  it  showed  us  that 
there  were  others  who  felt  with  us  for  the  injured  Afri- 
cans, and  who  were  willing  to  aid  us  in  our  designs ;  but 
it  was  rendered  still  more  so,  when  we  were  given  to 
understand  that  the  poem  was  written  by  Mr.  Roscoe, 
of  Liverpool,  and  the  preface  to  it  by  the  late  Dr.  Currie, 
who  then  hved  in  the  same  place.  To  find  friends  to 
our  cause  rising  up  from  such  a  quarter,  where  we  ex- 
pected scarcely  any  thing  but  opposition,  was  particularly 
encourao-ine;." 

The  first  part  of  "  The  Wrongs  of  Africa"  was  in- 
tended to  illustrate  the  mode  of  procuring  slaves  on  the 
coast  of  that  country.  The  manner  in  which  the  cap- 
tives were  obtained,  by  wars  or  by  domestic  treachery, 
is  described ;  and  the  cruelties  and  privations  to  which 
they  were  subjected,  are  painted  in  strong  colours. 
Throughout  the  poem,  that  love  of  freedom,  that  inex- 
tinguishable hatred  of  oppression,  are  displayed,  which 
were  such  signal  features  of  the  writer's  character :  — 

"  Dear  to  the  heart  is  Freedom's  generous  flame, 
And  dear  the  exulting  glow  that  warms  the  soul, 
When  struggling  virtue  firom  the  tyrant's  grasp 
Indignant  rushes  and  asserts  her  rights." 

*  Vol.  i.  p.  280. 


58  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

The  followins^  passage,  in  which  tlie  ^\Tite^  endeavours 
to  show  that,  even  in  savage  life,  the  natural  affections 
exert  their  full  influence,  may  be  considered  as  affording 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  poem  :  — 

"  Nor  yet  unknown  to  more  refined  delights, 
Nor  to  the  soft  and  social  feehngs  lost, 
Was  the  swart  African :  wherever  man 
Erects  his  dwelhng,  wliether  on  the  bleak 
And  frozen  cliffs  of  Zembla's  northern  coast, 
Or  in  meridian  regions,  Love  attends 
And  sliares  his  habitation ;  in  his  train 
Come  fond  affections,  come  endearing  joys. 
And  confidence,  and  tenderness,  and  truth. 
For  not  to  polish'd  life  alone  confined 
Are  these  primeval  blessings,  rather  there 
Destroy'd  or  injured  ;  mercenary  ties 
There  bind  ill-suited  tempers ;  avarice  there, 
And  pride,  and  lowering  superstition,  cross 
The  tender  union  ;  but  where  nature  reigns. 
And  universal  freedom.  Love  exults 
As  in  his  native  clime ;  there  aims  secure 
His  brightest  arrow,  steep'd  in  keen  delights, 
To  cultured  minds  and  colder  skies  unknown." 

In  the  following  year  (1788)  appeared  the  second 
part  of  the  "  Wrongs  of  Africa;"  the  subject  of  which 
is,  the  voyage  of  the  slaves  to  the  West  Indian  islands. 
The  description  of  the  dwelling  of  Matomba,  the  guar- 
dian of  Cymbello,  a  native  prince,  who  is  captured  and 
carried  away,  is  a  proof  that,  at  this  period,  Mr.  Roscoe 
had  become  attached  to  botanical  pursuits. 

"  Remote  from  peopled  haunts,  'midst  silent  groves, 
Where  palms  and  plantains  intcrmix'd  their  shade, 
And  spread  their  broad  leaves  to  tlie  scorching  sun, 
Matoniba's  dwelling  stood. —  A  crystal  stream 
Gush'd  from  the  gloom  and  lav'd  a  clu^son  spot, 
That  own'd  his  constant  culture  :  Aloes  there 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  59 

Shot  forth  their  vigorous  stems,  and  hung  their  bells 
In  graceful  negligence  ;  Hsemanthus  spread 
His  crimson  bloom ;  the  flowery  Almond  there, 
Profuse  of  fragrance,  scented  all  the  plain ; 
And  the  gay  Protea  waved  his  silvery  leaf, 
And  glitter'd  on  the  day ;  —  a  thousand  plants 
The  favourites  of  the  sun,  whose  vivid  tints 
Decay,  and  sicken,  in  our  northern  climes, 
There  in  perennial  lustre  smiled,  nor  fear'd 
The  chilling  blasts  of  Eurus." 

The  captive  Cymbello  is  visited  by  Despair,  and  the 
personification  of  that  power  is  declared,  by  Dr.  Currie, 
to  be  "  one  of  the  most  sublime  thoughts  in  modern 
poetry."* 


"  Torn  by  conflicting  passions,  barr'd  from  air,  ■ 
With  taunts  and  stripes  insulted,  and  compell'd 

To  share  the  anguish  of  desponding  throngs  : 

That  hourly  cursed  existence,  soon  began  ^ 
His  vigour  to  decline,  and  on  her  throne 

Sat  Reason  tottering.     Sleep  refus'd  to  close  i 

His  eyes,  that  gazing  wild  with  maniac  glare  I 

Froze  in  their  sockets  —  when  before  their  orbs  | 
Rose  a  majestic  form,  that,  not  confined 

Within  the  ship's  scant  boundary,  rear'd  her  head  i 

Amidst  the  rolling  clouds.     Her  right  hand  held  I 
A  falchion  dropping  blood,  and  in  her  left 
A  heart  yet  palpitating  shock'd  the  sight. 

Dreadful  she  smiled,  yet  in  her  dreadful  smile  j 

Lurk'd  fascination  :  horrid  was  her  voice,  j 

Yet  did  it  vibrate  on  the  wretch's  ear  \ 
Sweeter  than  music.     '  Prince,'  she  cried,  '  I  come                             '         j 
To  free  from  weak  regret  thy  manly  mind, 
And  vindicate  thy  wrongs.     To  deeds  of  death 

Rise  then !  my  steel  shall  point  the  way.'     She  spoke,  , 

And  clasp'd  him  to  her  bosom.     Through  his  frame  i 

Ran  fierce  emotions  of  tumultuous  joy ;  i 

I 

■ ' '--  — ■                  '  ■' ■•'■■-                —  •- ■                     .    ■    I. . -  ■  ■■  ■  — —  —   ■  ■  -3 

■j 

*  Memoirs,  vol.  i.  p.  135.  i 


60  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

He  spurn'd  the  fond  complaint ;  no  more  the  sigh 
Burst  from  his  heart ;  his  eyes  forgot  to  weep ; 
Ambition  now  was  husli'd ;  the  patriot  Hope 
Expired ;  and  Love  himself  the  rule  resign'd 
To  one  unbounded  tliirst  of  dread  revenge." 

The  opinions  expressed  with  regard  to  this  poem, 
both  privately  and  publicly,  were  very  gratifying  to  the 
author.  His  friend  ]\Ir.  Barton,  who  had  superintended 
it  as  it  passed  through  the  press,  thus  spoke  of  it :  —  "I 
have  at  last  got  the  second  part,  which,  to  say  the  least 
of  it,  will  not  disappoint  the  expectations  raised  by  the 
first  part.  I  think  the  poet  evidently  improves  as  he 
advances,  and  I  hope  nothing  will  prevent  his  going 
further.  To  me  the  language  and  thoughts  appear  to 
flow  with  greater  ease,  without  the  smallest  diminution  of 
boldness  or  energy.  I  have  never  been  more  pleased  or 
affected  by  any  poetical  production  whatever,  and  (all 
compliments  out  of  the  question)  I  must  say,  I  cannot 
but  feel  a  pride  in  calling  such  an  author  my  friend." 

''  The  Wrongs  of  Africa"  were  subsequently  translated 
into  German,  as  Mr.  Roscoe  learned,  upwards  of  twenty 
years  after  its  publication,  from  the  following  letter :  — 
*'  I  shall  beg  leave,"  says  his  correspondent,  Mr.  John- 
son, "  to  mention  another  circumstance  which  I  hope 
will  be,  in  some  degree,  interesting  to  you,  as  it  will 
show  you  that  Germans  of  literary  celebrity  have  thought 
themselves  well  employed  in  rendering  into  their  native 
tongue  the  least  important  of  your  works.  During  my 
residence  at  Leipsic,  I  became  acquainted  with  a  clergy- 
man of  the  name  of  Kiihn,  who  showed  me  tlie  manu- 
script of  a  poem  which  has  since  been  published  ;  it  was 
a  translation  of  an  English  poem  in  two  parts,  entitled, 
'  Tlie  Wrongs  of  Africa ;'  and  although  I  had  not  read 
the  original,  I  easily  recognised  the  author.     I  was  sorry 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  61 

to  find,  on  my  arrival  in  England,  that  the  poem  had 
never  been  completed,  as  otherwise  I  should  have  sent 
the  conclusion  to  my  friend,  as  I  had  promised." 

But  it  was  not  in  verse  alone  that  Mr.  Roscoe  raised 
his  voice  against  the  continuance  of  a  system  so  injurious 
to  the  interests  of  humanity  as  the  African  slave  trade. 
In  the  winter  of  1787  he  published  a  short  pamphlet, 
entitled  "  A  General  View  of  the  African  Slave  Trade, 
demonstrating  its  Injustice  and  Impolicy ;  with  Hints 
towards  a  Bill  for  its  Abolition."  *  In  this  pamphlet 
Mr.  Roscoe  considers  the  subject  in  two  points  of  view : 
first,  with  respect  to  its  justice  or  iniquity  ;  and  secondly, 
with  respect  to  its  political  advantages  or  disadvantages 
to  this  country :  and  that  he  did  not  altogether  fail  in 
establishing  his  arguments,  may  be  inferred  from  the 
following  observations  of  Dr.  Currie,  who,  though  a  sin- 
cere friend  to  the  abolition  of  the  trade,  yet  regarded 
with  a  cool  and  dispassionate  judgment  the  efforts  of  those 
who  were  labouring  in  the  cause,  f  "A  pamphlet  has 
just  appeared,  entitled  '  A  General  View  of  the  African 
Slave  Trade  with  Hints  towards  a  Bill  for  its  Abolition,' 
which  puts  the  subject  in  a  very  clear  point  of  view, 
and  contains  a  brief,  but  masterly,  chain  of  propositions 
that  bear  irresistible  force.  I  recommend  it  to  your 
perusal.  The  moderation  of  its  language  is  likely  to 
make  it  useful."  J  Mde.  Necker,  whose  zeal,  for  liberty 
led  her  to  interest  herself  in  the  sufferings  of  the  Africans, 
appears  to  have  entertained  the  idea  of  translating  this 
work    into    French.       "  On    the    subject   of  the    Slave 

♦London:  printed  for  R.  Faulder,  New  Bond   Street,  1788.     One 
thousand  copies  of  this  pamphlet  were  printed. 

t  See  his  Letter  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  the  second  volume  of  his 
,  Memoirs. 

i  Memoirs,  vol.  ii.  p.  5L 

VOL.    I.  6 


62  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Trade,"  says  Mr.  Baiton,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Roscoe, 
"  I  have  nothing  new  to  communicate,  except  that  one 
of  the  London  Committee  has  lately  been  in  France, 
and  dined  at  Paris  with  the  committee  established  in 
tliat  place  with  the  same  views  as  our  own.  Our  friend 
says,  the  committee  appears  to  consist  of  very  worthy 
and  respectable  characters,  and  that  they  are  very 
much  in  earnest  to  bring  about  the  reformation  we  wish 
for.  He  particularly  mentioned  the  zeal  of  Mde.  Necker 
in  this  great  business,  and  her  intentions  of  publishing 
some  tracts  on  the  subject,  so  soon  as  she  could  obtain 
leave  for  that  purpose,  which  is  a  confirmation  of  the 
account  received  at  Liverpool  of  her  having  been  trans- 
lating the  '  General  View.' "  From  another  of  Mr. 
Barton's  letters  it  appears  that  the  pamphlet  excited 
considerable  attention  in  Liverpool.  "  I  rejoice,"  says 
he,  "  to  find  that  thy  pamphlet  has  occasioned  a  ferment 
amongst  the  African  merchants  at  Liverpool,  and  I  trust 
it  will  occasion  a  ferment  amongst  our  senators  likewise, 
and  produce  the  conviction  we  so  much  wish  them  to 
feel." 

The  "  General  View  of  the  African  Slave  Trade " 
had  not  been  many  months  before  the  public,  when  Mr. 
Roscoe  found  himself  again  called  upon  for  fresh  exer- 
tions in  the  same  cause.  The  Rev.  Raymond  Harris, 
a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  who  had  been 
educated  for  the  Catholic  priesthood,  pubhshed,  under 
the  title  of  "  Scriptural  Researches  on  the  Licitness  of 
the  Slave  Trade,"  a  work  which  was  intended  to  tran- 
quillise  the  consciences  of  those  who  carried  on  the 
traffic,  by  representing  slavery  as  a  system  approved  of 
by  God.  He  proposed  to  show  "  its  conformity  with 
the  ])rinciples  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  as  deline- 
ated in  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Word  of  God."     This 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  63 

bold  attempt  to  degrade  the  noblest  of  all  the  attributes 
of  the  Deity, — ^his  justice  and  his  mercy,  —  met  with 
many  admirers.  "  Even  people,"  says  Mr.  Barton,  in 
the  same  letter  from  which  an  extract  has  been  made 
above,  "  the  least  likely  to  be  influenced  in  their  own 
judgments  by  arguments  drawn  from  this  quarter,  have 
yet  shown  a  wonderful  desire  to  have  such  arguments 
pass  for  solid  with  others.  I  am  assured  that  Lord 
Hawkesbury  himself  condescended  to  distribute  some  of 
Harris's  ^  Scriptural  Researches,'  recommending  them 
at  the  same  time  as  containing  unanswerable  arguments 
in  favour  of  the  slave  trade." 

Other  persons,  who  felt  that  the  interests  both  of 
religion  and  of  humanity  must  suffer  from  a  publication 
like  this,  were  filled  with  indignation  at  its  appearance. 
Dr.  Currie,  whose  temperate  mind  and  well-balanced 
feelings  seldom  permitted  him  to  use  harsh  expressions, 
thus  speaks  of  it: — ^"A  little  scoundrel,  a  Spanish 
Jesuit,  has  advanced  to  the  assistance  of  the  slave-mer- 
chants, and  has  published  a  vindication  of  this  traffic 
from  the  Old  Testament.  His  work  is  extolled  as  a 
prodigy  by  these  judges  of  composition,  and  is,  in  truth, 
no  bad  specimen  of  his  talents,  though  egregiously  false 
and  sophistical,  as  all  justifications  of  slavery  must  be. 
I  have  prompted  a  clergyman,  a  friend  of  mine,  to 
answer  him,  by  telling  him,  that  if  such  be  religion,  I 
would  'none  on't.'"* 

The  reply  to  the  "  Scriptural  Researches "  might 
with  great  propriety  have  proceeded  from  a  minister  of 
religion,  though  it  did  not  require  any  very  considerable 
knowledge  of  divinity  to  refute  arguments  derived  from 
an  authority  so  obviously  misapplied.     The  zeal  of  Mr, 

*  Memoirs  of  Dr.  Currie,  vol.  i.  p.  135. 


64  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Roscoe,  however,  did  not  permit  him  to  wait  until  others 
engaged  in  the  contest ;  and,  in  the  summer  of  1788, 
he  sent  to  the  press  "  A  Scriptural  Refutation  of  a 
Pamphlet  lately  published  by  the  Rev.  Raymond  Harris, 
entitled  '  Scriptural  Researches  on  the  Licitness  of  the 
Slave  Trade,'  in  Four  Letters  from  the  Author  to  a 
Friend.",*  As  an  argumentative  piece,  this  pamphlet 
may  certainly  be  considered  as  fully  equal  to  any  of  the 
productions  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  pen ;  nor  could  a  more 
full  and  satisfactory  answer  to  the  sophisms  of  his  antago- 
nist have  been  wished  for  by  the  friends  of  the  abolition. 
The  work  immediately  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
London  Abolition  Committee,  a  member  of  which  ad- 
dressed to  Mr.  Barton  the  following  letter  on  the  sub- 
ject :  — 

"  At  the  desire  of  our  committee,  I  have  to  request, 
that  thou  wouldst,  with  as  much  expedition  as  possible, 
communicate  to  the  author  of  the  Scriptural  Refutation, 
&ic.  of  Harris,  their  wishes  to  take  off  what  remains  of 
the  impression  (on  his  own  terms  of  course),  and  in 
case  that  should  not  be  sufficiently  numerous  for  their 
purpose,  they  request  the  author's  leave  to  print  a  new 
edition.     I  beseech  thee  lose  no  time." 

In  the  letter  from  Mr.  Barton,  communicating  this 
request,  he  says,  "  On  my  return  from  Brighton,  I  had 
the  pleasure  to  receive  a  parcel  '  from  the  Author,* 
containing  six  pamphlets,  in  answer  to  Harris.  I  imme- 
diately penised  one  of  them  myself,  and  gave  the  others 
to  some  of  the  most  intelligent  members  of  our  commit- 
tee, and  we  are  all  unanimously  of  opinion,  that  it  is 
the  work  of  a  master,  and  by  much  the  best  answer  that 
Harris   has   received."     The  wishes  of  the   committee 


•  London :  printed  for  B.  Law,  Ave  Maria  Lane,  Ludgate  Street. 

1788. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  65 

were  immediately  complied  with  by  Mr.  Roscoe ;  and 
the  thanks  of  that  body  were  transmitted  to  him  in  the 
following  letter  from  Mr.  Barton  :  — 

''  Immediately  on  the  receipt  of  thy  favour  of  the  5th, 
I  communicated  the  contents  (so  far  as  they  related  to 
the  '  Scriptural  Refutation ' )  to  the  committee  in  Lon- 
don, who  were  much  pleased  with  the  offer  made  to 
them,  and  very  happy  to  accept  of  it.  The  following  is 
an  extract  from  their  minutes :  — 

" '  At  a  Committee  of  the  Society  for  effecting  the 
Abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade,  July  15,  1788. 

" '  This  Committee,  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the 
laudable  zeal,  and  great  abilities,  manifested  by  the 
author  of  "A  Scriptural  Refutation  of  a  Pamphlet, 
entitled  Scriptural  Researches  on  the  Licitness  of  the 
Slave  Trade,"  do  gratefully  accept  his  offer,  and  request 
Mr.  Barton  to  convey  to  him  the  thanks  of  the  Commit- 
tee, for  the  important  service  he  has  rendered  the  cause 
in  which  they  are  engaged.' 

"  I  was  not  in  town  myself  at  the  time  of  this  meeting, 
nor  have  been  since  (nor  do  I  know  when  I  shall  be 
again),  therefore  I  have  not  seen  the  committee  books; 
but,  I  suppose,  this  minute  must  have  been  preceded  by 
another,  in  which  the  particulars  of  the  offer  made  by 
the  author  would  be  stated. 

"  The  Committee  ordered  a  new  edition,  at  the  same 
time,  which  I  should  imagine  must  ere  this  be  completed ; 
so  that  the  circulation  of  this  pamphlet  will  very  soon  be 
general  over  every  part  of  the  kingdom,  and  I  trust  its 
utility  will  be  as  great  as  its  circulation  will  be  exten- 
sive. All  who  have  read  it,  that  I  have  yet  met  with, 
speak  of  it  in  terms  of  the  highest  commendation ;  and 
many  are  the  enquiries  and  conjectures  respecting  its 
author." 

6* 


G6  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCQE. 

The  insurrection  of  the  negroes  in  the  Island  of  Su 
Domingo,  in  the  year  1791,  having  been  made  use  of  as 
an  argument  against  the  proceedings  of  the  Abohtionists 
in  this  country,  Mr.  Roscoe  was  induced  to  examine  this 
question  with  attention,  and  tlie  resuU  of  his  enquiry 
was  given  to  the  puljhc  in  a  sliort  tract,  entitled  "  An 
Inquiry  into  the  Causes  of  the  Insm-rection  of  the 
Neti-roes  in  the  Island  of  St.  Dominiro :  to  which  are 
added,  Observations  of  M.  Garran-Coulon  on  the  same 
subject,  read  in  his  absence  by  Guadet,  before  the  Na- 
tional Assembly,  February  29,  1792."*  The  particular 
object  of  this  pamphlet  was  to  review  the  account  of  the 
Insurrection,  given  in  the  speech  of  tlie  Deputies  from 
the  General  Assembly  of  St.  Domingo  to  the  National 
Assembly  ;  in  which  the  origin  of  the  calamity  was 
charged  upon  the  Amis  dcs  Noirs,  "  by  which  name,'* 
it  is  said,  in  the  English  translation  of  the  speech,  "  is 
distinguished  in  France,  the  party  that  have  seconded 
the  English  project  for  abolishing  the  Slave  Trade." 

A  more  dreadful  and  appalling  picture  of  aggravated 
cruelty  and  atrocity,  than  the  speech  of  the  Deputies 
exhibits,  can  scarcely  be  conceived.  Murder  and  vio- 
lence of  every  kind,  were  remorselessly  committed,  not 
only  upon  the  persons  of  the  whites,  but  upon  such  of 
the  negroes  as  remained  faithful  to  their  masters,  who 
w^ere  frequently  put  to  death  by  the  slow  torture  of  fire. 
Such  were  the  acts  which  the  Deputies  from  St.  Domin- 
go accused  "the  Friends  of  the  Blacks"  with  having 
caused  in  the  island ;  and  such  were  the  consequences 
which  the  enemies  of  the  abolition  in  England  predicted, 
as  the  result  of  their  adversaries'  labours  in  our  own  colo- 
nies. 

*  London  :  J.  Jolinson.     I7f)2. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  67 

Those  who  regarded  these  dreadful  scenes  with  a 
calmer  and  more  philosophical  eye,  beheld  in  them  only 
the  inevitable  consequences  of  slavery  :  —  "  Are  these 
enormities,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  ''  to  be  lamented  ?  Surely 
they  are.  Can  they  excite  our  wonder?  By  no  means. 
What  is  the  state  of  the  labouring  negro  ?  Is  he  not  a 
beins:  bound  down  by  force  ?  Labouring  under  constant 
compulsion?  Driven  to  complete  his  task  by  the  im- 
mediate discipline  of  the  whip  ?  Are  affection,  lenity, 
and  forbearance,  the  result  of  oppression  and  abuse  ? 
When  the  native  ferocity  of  Africa  is  sharpened  by  the 
keen  sense  of  long-continued  injury,  who  shall  set 
bounds  to  revenge  ?  " 

But  it  was  not  alone  from  the  fierce  teachings  of 
their  own  clime,  that  the  negroes  derived  their  lessons 
of  blood.  The  white  man  had  added  his  terrible  in- 
structions. 

"  Again,"  adds  Mr.  Roscoe,  "  how  have  the  fierce 
dispositions  of  savage  hfe  been  counteracted  or  improved 
by  the  example  of  their  white  superiors  ?  Resistance 
is  always  justifiable  where  force  is  the  substitute  of 
right :  nor  is  the  commission  of  a  civil  crime  possible  in 
a  state  of  slavery.  Yet  the  punishments  that  have  been 
devised  in  the  French  islands,  to  repress  crimes  that 
could  only  exist  by  the  abuse  of  the  slave-holder,  are 
such  as  nature  revolts  at.  How  often  have  these  unfor- 
tunate beings  beheld  their  fellows  beat,  in  famine  and 
distraction,  the  bars  of  an  iron  cage,  in  which  they  were 
doomed  to  pass,  in  inconceivable  misery,  the  last  days 
of  their  existence  ?  Is  it  not  known  that,  in  these 
wretched  islands,  a  human  being  has  resigned  his  life  in 
the  torments  of  a  slow-consuming  fire  ?  An  unavenged 
instance  of  an  act  so  awfully  atrocious  marks  out  for 
perdition  the  country  that  could  suffer  it.      When  the 


68  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

oppressor  thus  enforces  his  authority,  what  must  be  the 
efiect  of  the  sufferer's  resentment  ? 

Other  instances  were  not  wanting  to  urge  the  Negro 
upon  the  track  of  blood.  ''  Yet  the  Negro  had  other 
examples  before  his  eyes.  A  dissension  had  arisen 
amont^st  the  holders  of  the  slaves :  those  who  were 
before  united  in  oppressing  them,  were  now  at  variance 
among  themselves.  They  had  proceeded  to  open  vio- 
lence ;  whilst  the  slaves  awaited  the  event  with  silence, 
though  not  with  indifference.  One  party  obtained  an 
early  superiority  :  the  leader  of  the  weaker  number  was 
taken  ;  and  the  Negroes  were  spectators  of  the  death  of 
Oge,  a  man  who  partook  of  their  colour,  and  who  ivas 
broken  olive  upon  the  wheel.  Twenty-five  of  his  fol- 
lowers shared  the  same  fate.  If  the  cold-blooded  sons 
of  Europe,  educated  in  the  habits  of  improved  society, 
and  affecting  to  feel  the  precepts  of  a  mild  and  merciful 
rehgion,  can  thus  forget  themselves  and  insult  their  own 
nature,  ought  they  to  wonder  that  the  African  should 
imitate  the  pattern,  and,  if  possible,  improve  upon  their 
example  ? " 

Amongst  the  atrocities  detailed  by  the  Deputies,  are 
the  two  following  instances  :  — 

"  At  Great  River,  an  inhabitant,  M.  Cardineau, 
had  two  natural  sons  of  colour,  to  whom  he  had  sriven 
their  liberty,  and  who,  in  their  childhood,  had  been 
the  objects  of  his  tenderest  care.  They  accost  him, 
with  a  pistol  at  his  breast,  and  demand  his  money. 
He  consents  ;  but  no  sooner  have  they  obtahied  it,  than 
they  stab  him. 

"  At  Acul,  M.  Chauvet  de  Breuil,  Deputy  to  the 
General  Assembly,  is  assassinated  by  a  Mulatto,  aged 
sixteen,  his  natural  son,  to  whom  he  destined  his  for- 
tune, having  manumitted  him  from  his  childhood." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  69 

Upon  these  transactions,  Mr.  Roscoe  makes  the  fol- 
lowing remarks :  — 

"  But  the  horrors  of  the  slaughter  increase.  The 
white  father  falls  a  victim  to  the  unnatural  rage  of  his 
Mulatto  son.  Have  human  crimes  their  origin  and 
causes  in  human  affairs ;  or  are  they  incited  by  some 
malignant  demon,  who  possessing  himself  of  that  cup  of 
affection,  the  human  heart,  pours  out  its  contents,  and 
fills  it  with  poison  ?  Alas  1  we  vainly  seek,  in  fable,  the 
apology  of  our  own  depravity ;  and,  unhappily,  the 
causes  of  those  transactions,  which  would  scarce  meet 
credibility  in  any  other  part  of  the  globe,  are  in  these 
regions  of  guilt  too  apparent.  However  the  Author  of 
nature  may  have  instilled  affection  into  the  breast  of  a 
parent,  as  the  means  of  preserving  the  race  from  destruc- 
tion, we  must  allow,  that  the  corresponding  sentiment  in 
the  mind  of  the  offspring  is  merely  the  effect  of  a  long- 
continued  course  of  care,  partiality,  and  tenderness. 
Shall  the  harvest,  then,  rise  up  without  seed  ?  and  where 
no  fondness  has  been  shown,  shall  filial  attachments  be 
expected  ?  In  a  country,  where  it  is  by  no  means  un- 
usual for  the  known  children  of  the  planter  to  undergo 
all  the  hardships  and  the  ignominy  of  slavery,  in  common 
with  the  most  degraded  class  of  mortals,  is  it  there  we 
are  to  seek  for  instances  of  filial  affection  ? " 

What  must  be  thought  of  that  condition  of  society, 
which,  if  we  may  beheve  the  Deputies  themselves,  re- 
verses all  the  feelings  of  the  human  breast  ?  "  The 
slaves,"  say  they,  "  who  had  been  most  kindly  treated  by 
their  masters,  were  the  soul  of  the  insurrection.  It  was 
they  who  betrayed  and  delivered  their  humane  masters 
to  the  assassin's  sword ;  it  was  they  who  seduced  and 
stirred  up  to  revolt  the  gangs  disposed  to  fidelity.  It 
was  they  who  massacred  whomsoever  refused  to  become 


70  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

their   accomplice.      What   a   lesson   for   the  Amis  des 
Noirs!'' 

"  Upon  this  part  of  the  address,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe, 
"  reflections  still  occur,  in  which  the  planter  is  deeply 
interested.  An  opinion  is  thus  inculcated,  which,  if  ac- 
ceded to,  and  acted  upon,  must  render  the  islands  a 
constant  scene  of  cruelty  and  bloodshed.  We  are  told, 
tliat  the  slaves  who  had  been  most  kindly  treated  by  their 
masters  were  the  soul  of  the  insurrection  ;  that  it  was  they 
who  had  betrayed  and  delivered  their  humane  masters  to 
the  assassin's  sword,  and  seduced  and  stirred  up  to  revolt 
the  gangs  disposed  to  fidelity.  Hear  this,  ye  planters  1 
and  if  there  be  one  amongst  you  so  singularly  foolish  as 
to  harbour  a  lurking  sentiment  of  humanity,  let  him  for 
his  own  safety  divest  himself  of  it  without  loss  of  tune ! 
The  Negro  is  a  being,  whose  nature  and  dispositions  are 
not  merely  different  from  those  of  the  European,  they 
are  the  reverse  of  them.  Kindness  and  compassion 
excite  in  his  breast  implacable  and  deadly  hatred ;  but 
stripes,  and  insult,  and  abuse,  generate  gratitude,  affec- 
tion, and  inviolable  attachments  1  Upon  this  principle, 
we  are  enabled  to  reconcile  an  apparent  inconsistency  in 
the  address.  '  Slaves,'  we  are  informed,  '  were  still 
found,  who  gave  proofs  of  an  invincible  fidelity ;  and 
who  made  manifest  their  determination  to  detest  the 
seduction  of  those,  who  would,  with  promises  of  liberty, 
inveio;le  them  to  certain  destmction.'  If  the  humanity 
of  the  master  only  sharpens  the  appetite  of  revenge,  is 
it  difficult  to  discover  by  what  mode  of  treatment  the 
friendsliip  of  these  slaves  was  secured  ?  Be  grateful,  ye 
planters,  to  the  man,  who  has  at  length  disclosed  this 
important  truth  ;  and  admire  his  courage  who  has  dared 
to  avow  it,  even  in  the  bosom  of  a  nation  devoted  to 
liberty ! " 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  71 

In  perusing  this  pamphlet,  the  reader  will  be  but  too 
forcibly  reminded  of  similar  calamities  which  have  re- 
cently occurred  in  our  own  colonies,  and  which  have 
been  in  the  same  manner  attributed,  not  to  their  true 
cause,  the  demoralising  and  debasing  nature  of  slavery, 
but  to  the  interference  of  the  abolitionists.  The  con- 
cluding observations  of  the  writer  are  as  applicable  at 
the  present  moment  as  on  the  day  when  they  were 
written. 

"  If,  however,  no  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  the 
history  of  these  disorders,  either  to  impeach  the  promoters 
of  the  abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade,  or  to  deter  the  British 
Parliament  from  duly  considering,  and  fully  deciding  on, 
that  important  measure,  it  will  afford  instruction  of  a 
different  nature.  Nourished  in  inveterate,  and  it  will  be 
feared  irremediable,  prejudices,  it  may  show  us,  that  the 
colonists  are  not  the  best  judges  even  of  their  own  in- 
terests ;  it  may  apprise  us  of  the  danger  of  sacrificing 
general  principles  of  substantial  justice  to  variable  and 
temporising  expedients ;  it  may  demonstrate  to  us,  that 
the  preservation  of  our  own  islands  from  similar  disasters, 
depends  on  the  early  adoption  of  measures,  which,  whilst 
they  are  vigorous  and  decisive,  are  just,  conciliatory,  and 
humane ;  and  may  caution  us,  that,  where  we  choose  not 
to  impart  the  beamings  of  hope,  we  excite  not  the 
ragings  of  despair." 

The  merit  of  this  pamphlet,  in  its  application  of  gen- 
eral principles  to  particular  cases,  is  remarked  by  Mr. 
Rathbone,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  written  many  years 
after  its  publication  :  — ^  ^'  I  have  been  reading  some  other 
of  your  publications  lately,  and  am  struck  with  the  ability 
and  address  with  which  you  introduce  general  principles ; 
and  this  is  a  talent  of  unspeakable  value.  They  leave 
an  impression,  and  apply  to  other  subjects  than  those 


72  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

which  gave  them  birth.  *  *  *  Your  account  of  the 
causes  of  the  insurrections  in  St.  Domingo  is  full  of  these 
general  principles.  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  your  great  forte ; 
and  1  earnestly  advise  you  to  cultivate  it." 


\ 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1788  —  1796. 

Motives  which  led  Mr.  Roscoe  to  take  a  part  in  politics.  —  Celebra- 
tion of  the  Revolution  of  1688  —  song  on  that  occasion.  —  Com- 
mencement of  the  French  Revolution.  —  Publication  of  the  "  Ode 
to  the  People  of  France,"  "  Unfold,  Father  Time,"  "  O'er  the 
vine-cover'd  hills."  —  Progress  of  the  Revolution,  —  Execution 
of  the  Brissotines.  —  Letter  to  Lord  Lansdowne.  —  Publication 
of  ''Strictures  on  Mr.  Burke's  Two  Letters." —  "  The  Life, 
Death,  and  wonderful  Achievements  of  Edmund  Burke."  —  State 
of  parties  at  Liverpool  —  public  meeting  there.  —  Address  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Roscoe.  —  Singular  proceedings.  —  Publication  of 
"  Thoughts  on  the  Causes  of  the  present  Failures."  —  The  Lite- 
rary Society  —  forced  to  abandon  their  meetings.  —  Letter  to  Lord 

Lansdowne.  —  Sonnet    by   the    Rev.   W.  Shepherd. Visit    to 

London.  —  Domestic  correspondence. Count  Rantzau  —  cor- 
respondence with  him  and  with  the  Countess  Rantzau.—  Removal 
of  Mr.  Roscoe  from  the  town  of  Liverpool.  —  "Inscription."  — 
Removal  to  Birchfield. 

The  motives  by  which  men  are  induced  to  take  an 
active  part  in  poUtical  affairs,  are  of  a  very  varied  char- 
acter.    In  many  instances  high  birth  and  party  connec- 
-tions  lead,  as  it  were,  naturally,  into  public  life.     Others, 
destitute  of  these  advantages,  are  allured  by  the  prospects 
which  ambition  opens,   or  by  the  hopes  of  profit  which 
place  affords ;  while  others,  again,  are  actuated  by  the 
love  of  popular  distinction,  —  perhaps  the  most  common 
feeling  which  leads  men  into  the  ceaseless  anxieties,  the 
ever-recurring  disappointments,  and  the  unthankful  duties 
of  political  life.     Governed  by  different  motives,  a  few 
individuals  are  found,  who,  in  their  exertions  on  behalf 

VOL.  I.  7 


74  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

of  the  public,  disregard  the  rewards  wliich  power,  place, 
and  popular  applause  bestow ;  satisfied  with  the  convic- 
tion that,  in  directing  their  best  eftbrts  to  the  public  good, 
they  have  not  unworthily  performed  one  of  the  first  and 
most  honourable  of  human  duties.  It  is  to  this  class  of 
men  alone  that  a  country  can  look  for  faithful  counsellors 
and  for  zealous  servants.  It  is  these  alone,  who,  in  their 
freedom  from  all  sinister  interests,  and  still  more  from  all 
ill-directed  ambition,  will  be  neither  warped  nor  misled  in 
the  performance  of  their  lofty  duties. 

The  motives  which  induced  ]\Ir.  Roscoe,  at  an  early 
age,  to  take  a  lively  interest,  and  so  far  as  his  station  in 
hfe  permitted,  an  active  part  in  public  affairs,  were  un- 
mixed with  any  view^s  of  personal  advantage  or  distinc- 
tion. The  opinions  entertained  by  him  on  all  the  more 
important  subjects  of  public  discussion  were  far  from 
finding  general  favour,  even  in  the  eyes  of  the  populace ; 
while  those  who  professed  them  were  avowedly  obnoxious 
to  the  government,  and  to  a  great  proportion  of  the 
wealthy  and  powerful  part  of  the  comnnniity.  The  ad- 
vocates of  French  principles,  as  those  who  ventured  to 
express  liberal  opinions  were  termed,  incurred  an  odium 
which  it  required  some  fortitude  of  mind  to  withstand  ; 
and  no  one,  who  w^as  not  a  witness  to  the  state  of  English 
society  at  that  period,  can  justly  appreciate  the  merit  of 
the  persons  who  not  only  retained  opinions  so  generally 
obnoxious,  but  continued  publicly  to  profess  them,  and 
to  despise  the  obloquy  to  which  that  profession  gave 
rise. 

Though  the  theatre  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  public  exertions 
at  this  period  of  his  life  was  remote  and  confined,  it 
must  not  therefore  be  supposed  that  to  others  they  were 
without  any  useful  results,  or  that  on  his  own  part  they 
demanded   no  sacrifices.     The   town  of  Liverpool  had 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  75 

not,  indeed,  at  that  time,  acquired  the  station  in  the 
country  which  it  now  occupies  ;  but  its  rapidly  increasing 
importance  rendered  the  ~  opinion  of  its  inhabitants  of 
some  consequence  in  estimating  the  general  state  of 
public  feeling.  In  forming  and  directing  that  opinion, 
Mr.  Roscoe  possessed  no  inconsiderable  influence  ;  arising 
from  the  respect  which  his  personal  character  inspired, 
and  from  the  general  confidence  reposed  in  his  sincerity 
and  integrity.  The  state  of  society  in  Liverpool  was  at 
this  time  such,  that  there  were  few  of  its  principal  in- 
habitants with  whom  he  did  not  enjoy  a  personal  ac- 
quaintance ;  and  of  the  opportunities  thus  afforded  him, 
in  public  and  in  private,  of  directing  the  minds  of  those 
around  him  to  just  vews  of  political  affairs,  he  always 
eagerly  availed  himself. 

The  character  of  his  political  opinions,  which  were 
formed  at  an  early  age,  resulted  from  the  mode  in  which 
his  mind  had  been  cultivated,  and  from  the  absence  of 
that  control  and  superintendence,  in  matter  of  opinion, 
to  which  in  general  the  formation  of  political  principles 
in  early  life  is  owing.  His  native  disposition,  therefore, 
displayed  itself,  in  an  attachment  to  the  principles  of  free- 
dom, in  an  opposition  to  injustice  and  oppression  under 
every  form,  and  in  a  zealous  and  generous  desire  to 
benefit  his  fellow  creatures. 

Although  the  intervals  of  leisure  which  he  w^as  able  to 
snatch  from  his  daily  employments  were  usually  devoted 
to  literary  studies,  his  mind  was  yet  actively  alive  to 
what  was  passing  in  the  political  world.  The  first  oc- 
casion upon  which  he  appears  to  have  taken  any  public 
part  in  politics  was  on  the  celebration,  in  1788,  of  the 
centenary  of  the  Revolution.  Several  gentlemen  of 
Liverpool  having  met  to  commemorate  that  great  event, 
Mr.  Roscoe   formed  one  of  the  party ;  and  the  foUow- 


ij-t^: 


76  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

ing  lines,  written  by  him,  were    recited    on   tlie  occa- 
sion :  — 

"  SECULAR  SOXG  ON  THE  REVOLUTION  OF  1688. 

"  Since  Freedom  here  fix'd  her  immutable  throne, 

A  hundred  long  years  wing-'d  with  blessings  are  past ; 
Our  fatliers  tlie  sweets  of  her  favour  have  known, 
But 't  is  ours  to  complete  the  full  circle  at  last ; 
Then  grasp  the  deep  bowl,  the  full  chorus  prolong, 
To  William  and  Freedom  be  sacred  the  song  1 

"  When  James,  the  worst  heir  of  a  tyrannous  line, 
Had  trampled  on  reason,  religion,  and  laws, 
Like  an  angel  commission'd  by  goodness  divine. 
Then  William  arose,  and  asserted  our  cause  ; 
Then  grasp  the  deep  bowl,  the  full  chorus  prolong. 
To  William  and  Freedom  be  sacred  the  song  t 

"  Could  the  sons  of  Britannia,  supine  and  unjust. 
Be  dead  to  the  transports  the  season  inspires. 
The  spirits  of  those  avIio  now  moulder  in  dust. 

Would  speak  from  their  ashes  to  kindle  our  fires : 
Then  grasp  the  deep  bowl,  the  full  chorus  prolong. 
To  William  and  Freedom  be  sacred  tlie  song ! 

"  To  Nature  the  boon  of  existence  we  owe. 

But  't  is  Liberty  crowns  it  with  honour  and  joy  ; 
The  worth  of  her  smile  by  experience  we  know, 

To  enjoy  it  we  live,  to  preserve  it  we  'II  die : 
Then  grasp  the  deep  bowl,  the  full  chorus  prolong. 
To  William  and  Freedom  be  sacred  the  song  I 

"  Round  this  altar  of  Freedom  united  we  bow, 
Our  libations  shall  aid  her  unquenchable  flame, 
Wliich  licre  to  transmit  to  our  children  we  vow, 

BriL''ht  and  vivid  as  when  from  our  fatliers  it  came : 
Then  grasp  the  deep  bowl,  the  full  chorus  prolong, 
To  William  and  Freedom  be  sacred  tiie  song ! " 

Possessing  principles  and  feelings  like   these,  it  can- 
not be  supposed  that  Mr.  Iloscoe  witnessed  the  com- 


LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  ROSCOE.  77 

mencement  of  the  French  Revolution  without  sentiments 
of  the  most  intense  interest.  The  spectacle  of  a  great 
nation  rising  up,  as  one  man,  to  regain  the  station  and 
the  happiness  from  which  it  had  been  debarred  by  cen- 
turies of  misgovemment,  was  one  which  might  well 
awaken  the  sympathies  of  his  heart.  Nor  was  the  splen- 
dour which  surrounded  the  first  efforts  of  the  French  to 
recover  their  freedom  obscured  by  any  clouds.  In  this 
glory  of  the  first  days  of  their  Revolution  it  was  that 
Mr.  Roscoe  dedicated  his  muse  to  the  celebration  of 
French  liberty.  In  the  prosecution  of  his  studies  he 
had  been  struck  with  the  fine  canzone  of  Petrarch  — 

"  Quel  ch'  ha  nostra  natura  in  se  piu  degno," 

which  seemed  susceptible  of  being  applied  to  the  great 
struggle  for  freedom  then  taking  place  in  France ;  and 
he  accordingly  imitated  the  Italian  poem  in  ''  An  Ode  to 
the  People  of  France,"  which  was  published  at  Liver- 
pool, in  the  year  1789.  The  invocation  to  Liberty, 
"  Liberta !  dolce  e  desiato  bene,"  is  perhaps  the  most 
spirited  part  of  the  translation  :  — 

"  Freedom !  blest  gift,  whom  none  condemn  who  know ; 
Dear  is  thy  presence  to  this  world  below ! 
Life  vigorous  grows  where'er  thy  steps  have  trod, 
And  man  walks  forth  the  semblance  of  a  God ; 
If  thou  be  absent,  life  no  joy  affords. 
Despised  its  titled  pomps,  its  useless  hoards ; 
But  in  thy  presence  every  cottage  charms. 
And  Peace  reposes  in  thy  sheltering  arms." 

At  a  period  long  subsequent  to  the  publication  of  this 
Ode,  Mr.  Roscoe  transmitted  a  copy  of  it,  together  with 
some  other  of  his  works,  to  Mr.  Fox,  who,  in  a  letter  to 
the  author,  expresses  his  admiration  of  the  poem. 
7* 


73  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

The  interest  wliicli  the  friends  of  liberty  in  Liverpool 
felt  in  the  progress  of  tlie  Frencli  Revohition  was  mani- 
fested by  a  meeting  lield  on  the  14th  July,  1790,  to 
celebrate  the  taking  of  the  Baslile  ;  on  which  occasion 
Mr.  Roscoe  produced  his  well-known  song,  "  Unfold, 
Father  Time." 

"  SONG. 

"  Unfold,  Father  Time  !  thy  long"  records  unfold. 
Of  noble  achievements  accomplish'd  of  old, 
When  men,  by  the  standard  of  Liberty  led, 
Undauntedly  conquer'd  or  cheerfully  bled ; 
But  know,  'midst  the  triumphs  these  moments  reveal. 
Their  glories  shall  fade,  and  their  lustre  turn  pale ; 
While  France  rises  up,  and  confirms  the  decree 
That  tears  off  her  chains,  and  bids  millions  be  free. 

"  As  spring  to  the  fields,  or  as  dew  to  the  flower, 
To  the  earth  parch'd  with  heat  as  the  soft  dropping  shower ; 
As  health  to  the  Avretch  that  lies  languid  and  wan ; 
Or  as  rest  to  the  weary  —  is  Freedom  to  man. 
Where  Freedom  the  light  of  her  countenance  gives. 
There  only  he  revels,  there  only  he  lives ; 
Seize,  then,  the  glad  moment,  and  hail  the  decree 
That  bids  millions  rejoice,  and  a  nation  be  free ! 

"  Too  long  had  Oppression  and  Terror  entwined 
Those  fancy-form'd  chains  that  enslave  tlie  free  mind. 
Whilst  dark  Superstition,  with  nature  at  strife, 
Had  lock'd  up  fur  ages  the  fountains  of  life : 
But  the  demons  are  fled,  the  delusion  is  past, 
And  Reason  and  Virtue  have  conquer'd  at  last; 
Seize,  then,  the  glad  moment,  and  hail  the  decree 
That  bids  millions  rejoice,  and  a  nation  be  free  t 

"  France !  we  share  in  tlie  rapture  tliy  bosom  that  fills, 
When  the  spirit  of  Liberty  bounds  o'er  thy  hills ; 
Redundant  henceforth  may  thy  purple  juice  flow, 
Prouder  wave  tliy  green  woods,  and  thy  olive  trees  grow, 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  79 

For  thy  brow  may  the  hand  of  Philosophy  twine, 
Blest  emblems !  the  myrtle,  the  olive,  and  vine  ; 
And  Heaven  through  all  ages  confirm  the  decree, 
That  tears  off  thy  chains,  and  bids  millions  be  free ! " 

But  the  pen  of  Mr.  Roscoe  was,  in  the  following  year, 
exerted  still  more  successfully  in  the  composition  of  his 
celebrated  lines,  "  O'er  the  vine-cover'd  hills  and  gay 
regions  of  France,"  —  a  song  which,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected from  its  beauty  and  its  animating  spirit,  imme- 
diately became  highly  popular. 

This  composition,  like  the  former,  was  written  for  the 
purpose  of  being  recited  on  the  anniversary  of  the  14th 
August.  Upon  that  day,  in  the  year  1791,  the  riots  at 
Birmingham  took  place,  and  the  celebration  was  after- 
wards discontinued  in  Liverpool,  as  well  as  in  other 
places. 


i 


"  O'er  the  vine-cover'd  hills  and  gay  regions  of  France, 

See  the  day-star  of  Liberty  rise  ; 
Through  the  clouds  of  detraction  unsulhed  advance, 

And  hold  its  new  course  through  the  skies. 
An  effulgence  so  mild,  with  a  lustre  so  bright, 

All  Europe  with  wonder  surveys  ; 
And,  from  deserts  of  darkness  and  dungeons  of  night, 

Contends  for  a  share  of  the  blaze. 

"  Ah !  who  'midst  the  horrors  of  night  would  abide, 

That  can  breathe  the  pure  breezes  of  morn  ? 
Or  who,  that  has  drunk  the  pure  crystalline  tide, 

To  the  feculent  flood  would  return  ? 
When  the  bosom  of  Beauty  the  throbbing  heart  meets. 

Ah,  who  can  the  transport  decline  ? 
Or  who,  that  has  tasted  of  Liberty's  sweets. 

The  prize  but  with  life  would  resign  ? 

«  Let  Burke  like  a  bat  from  its  splendour  retire, 
A  splendour  too  strong  for  his  eyes  ; 
Let  pedants  and  fools  his  effusions  admire, 
Entrapt  in  his  cobweb  like  flies. 


80  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

SluiU  insolent  Sophistry  hope  to  prevail  | 

Where  Reason  opposes  lier  wcijrht,  ) 

When  the  welftire  of  millions  is  hung  in  tlie  scale, 

And  the  balance  yet  trembles  with  fate  ?  ; 

"  But 't  is  over  —  high  Heaven  the  decision  approves,  | 

Oppression  has  struggled  in  vain, 
To  the  hell  she  has  form'd  Superstition  removes. 

And  Tyranny  bites  his  own  chain.  ^ 

In  the  records  of  Time  a  new  era  unfolds,  j 

All  nature  exults  in  its  birth  ;  j 

His  creation  benign  the  Creator  beholds,  j 

And  gives  a  new  charter  to  earth.  -  ^ 

«  O  catch  the  high  import,  ye  winds,  as  ye  blow  ;  | 

O  bear  it,  ye  waves,  as  ye  roll,  ', 

From  regions  that  feel  the  sun's  vertical  glow,  ■ 

To  the  farthest  extremes  of  the  Pole.  ; 

Equal  i^ighis,  equal  laivs,  to  the  nations  around,  1 

Peace  and  friendship  its  precepts  impart,  j 

And  wherever  the  footsteps  of  Man  shall  be  found,  j 

He  shall  bind  the  decree  on  his  heart."  | 

As  the  revolution  proceeded,  —  as  the  confidence  of 
the  people  in  the  sincerity  of  the  king  decreased,  —  as  | 
the  passions  of  various  parties  became  more  and  more  | 
exasperated,  —  as  the  threats  of  foreign  interference  were  , 
redoubled,  the  aspect  of  political  affairs  in  France  grew  \ 
darker  and  darker.  It  now  became  evident  that  des-  ; 
potism,  amongst  its  most  hateful  qualities,  possesses  that  ' 
of  rendering  those  who  suffer  under  its  influence  unfit  ' 
for  tlie  wise  enjoyment  of  freedom,  until  after  a  long  | 
and  too  often  a  sanguinary  e(kicalion  ;  —  that  it  is  vain  ■ 
to  expect  from  slaves,  the  discretion,  the  forbearance,  ! 
and  the  magnanimity  of  freemen ;  and  tliat  the  fatal  ! 
retribution  of  the  crimes  of  governments  is  found  in  the  i 
madness  of  the  people.  The  oppression  of  the  atmo- 
sphere   is    carried   off  in    liglitnings  and  in  storms,  and  1 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  81 

despotism  expires  in  tumults  and  in  blood.  The  crimes 
of  the  French  revolution  have  been  by  many  absurdly 
charged  on  those  alone .  by  whose  hands  they  were  com- 
mitted ;  while  their  governors,  who  had  industriously 
extirpated  the  principles  and  feelings  which  would  have 
prevented  such  excesses,  have  been  represented  as  their 
martyrs.  Time,  and  calm  reflection,  will  teach  the 
better  lesson,  that,  to  render  a  people  humane,  just,  and 
moderate,  their  government  must  first  set  them  an  ex- 
ample of  humanity,  of  justice,  and  of  moderation. 

Those  who,  like  Mr.  Roscoe,  had  witnessed  with 
delight  the  birth  of  freedom  in  France,  and  watched 
anxiously  over  its  cradle,  —  who  had  looked  for  peace, 
and  happiness,  and  improvement,  as  the  great  results 
of  the  revolution,  beheld  with  grief  and  dismay  the 
alarming  vicissitudes  of  its  progress.  The  last  hope  of 
the  friends  of  France  seemed  to  expire  on  the  scaffold 
of  the  Brissotines. 

It  was  soon  after  this  event,  the  intelligence  of  which 
he  received  with  the  deepest  emotion,  that  the  following 
letter  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Roscoe  to  the  late  Marquis 
of  Lansdowne :  — 

"  The  event  which  has  pressed  upon  me  with  more 
weight  than  almost  any  other  I  ever  as  yet  experienced, 
either  of  a  public  or  private  nature,  is  the  execution  of 
the  Deputies  in  France,  —  men  whom  I  had  long  been 
accustomed  to  look  up  to  as  the  best  friends  of  their 
country  and  of  mankind ;  and  for  whom,  if  affection  be 
acquired  without  a  personal  acquaintance,  I  may  say  I 
had  a  real  esteem.  Of  these  men,  Verniaux  was  the 
most  particular  object  of  my  regard.  He  seems  to  have 
possessed  a  grandeur  and  sublimity  of  imagination, 
coupled  with  an  accuracy  of  judgment,  beyond  any  of 
his  associates ;  and  if  ever  the  love  of  his  country  was 


82  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

apparent  in  any  man,  it  was  so  in  him.  In  lamenting 
the  fate  of  these  great  men,  I  cannot,  however,  forget 
their  errors,  which,  I  am  convinced,  they  themselves  dis- 
covered when  too  late.  Their  graves  were  dug  on  the 
10th  of  August,  and  the  2d  of  September  passed  their 
sentence.  The  remainder  of  their  lives  was  a  struggle  to 
repair  either  their  mistake  in  assenting  to,  or  their  want 
of  energy  in  resisting,  the  violence  that  then  took  place. 
Fatal  day !  that  overthrew  the  labour  of  years,  and 
placed  the  fortunes  of  the  human  race  on  the  chance  of 
a  die.  Surely,  nothing  less  than  absolute  despotism  can 
admit  of  the  application  of  the  principle  of  force. 

"  Wherever  the  sense  of  a  whole  community  can  be 
peaceably  taken,  the  insurrection  of  a  part  is  treason. 
This  forms  the  distinction  between  the  destroyers  of  the 
Bastile  and  the  heroes  of  the  10th  of  August,  or  their 
rivals  of  the  2d  of  September. 

"As  to  the  great  point  which  the  French  think  they 
have  gained  by  the  destruction  of  their  monarchy,  I 
think  it  of  little  consequence ;  not  that  I  am  become  a 
believer  in  the  maxim,  that  '  whate'er  is  best  adminis- 
tered is  best,'  but  because  I  think  that  a  monarchy  is 
capable  of  being  as  well  constituted  for  the  ha})piness  of 
a  people  as  a  republic.  And  though,  I  hope,  not  su- 
perstitious, I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  voluntary  and 
solemn  oath  of  a  whole  nation,  to  abide  by  a  constitu- 
tion which  lliey  took  three  years  in  framing,  ought,  if 
there  be  any  thing  serious  or  binding  in  human  affairs, 
to  have  some  weight.  1  will  not  troul)le  your  Lordship 
with  my  feelings  on  the  conduct  of  the  French  rulers 
subsequent  to  this  shocking  event.  The  horrid  industry 
employed  in  the  discovery  of  the  other  proscribed  Depu- 
ties, the  (lelil)erate  mockery  of  their  trial,  and  the  bloody 
indifference  of  the  people  at  large,  on  the  execution  of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  83 

such  men  as  Rabaut,  who  first  rescued  them  from  des- 
potism, freezes  my  affections,  and  gives  me  a  disUke, 
not  only  to  the  French,  but  to  my  species.  Sorry  am 
I  to  say,  that  this  dishke  is  not  much  removed  by  any 
thing  I  can  see  in  my  own  country,  where  the  same 
selfisli  and  slavish  spirit  that  has  contributed  to  bring 
on  the  enormities  of  France  is  apparent  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  all  those  who  aim,  by  a  cool,  rational,  and  delibe- 
rate reform,  to  prevent  a  similar  catastrophe  here.  With 
what  face  can  our  present  administration  commit  Thomas 
Muir  to  the  hulks,  preparatory  to  his  transportation  to 
Botany  Bay,  when  it  is  apparent  to  all  the  nation,  that 
if  he  has  been  guilty,  Mr.  Pitt  and  the  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond ought  to  accompany  him  ?  But  the  leaders  have 
apostatised,  and  the  disciples  perish.  This  is  enough. 
The  founders  of  a  sect  become  its  persecutors !  To 
whom  shall  we  compare  those  who  punish  what  they 
have  themselves  endeavoured  to  promote  ? 

"  I  cannot  conceive  what  can  be  the  views  of  the 
people  assembled  in  Edinburgh,  under  the  name  of  the 
British  Convention ;  but  the  whole  is  so  ill-timed,  and 
so  ill-conducted,  that  I  should  easily  be  persuaded  it  was 
intended  to  bring  additional  odium  on  the  cause  of  re- 
form, did  I  not  know,  that  one  person  appeared  amongst 
them  whose  motives  are  beyond  suspicion.  I  mean 
Lord  Daer,  whom  I  have  seen  in  Liverpool,  and  whose 
heart,  I  am  sure,  is  right.  Why  has  he  committed  him- 
self in  such  a  business,  and  nipt  his  usefulness  in  the 
bud  ?  Great  harm  has  been  done  by  the  doctrine,  so 
industriously  inculcated  by  a  sect  of  which  I  am  a  pro- 
fessing member,  that  whatever  is  ultimately  right  is  to  be 
pursued  at  all  times.  Perhaps,  however,  this  arises  rather 
from  a  misapprehension  of  the  precept,  than  from  the  pre- 
cept itself.     It  might  be  admitted  in  its  general  purport, 


84  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

but  tlien,  whatever  is  right  is  always  to  be  sought  for  by 
means  likely  to  obtain  it,  and  not  by  such  as  can  directly 
tend  only  to  the  injury  of  the  cause,  and  the  ruin  of  tlie 
individual.  If  I  wish  for  a  prosperous  voyage,  I  must 
wait  for  the  wind  and  the  tide  ;  but  if  I  resolve  to  at- 
tempt it  in  spite  of  both,  I  become  the  unpitied  cause 
of  my  own  destruction." 

As  the  atrocities  of  the  Revolution  increased,  it  be- 
came the  fashion  in  this  country  to  attribute  their  origin, 
not  to  the  degraded  and  servile  state  in  which  the  people 
had  been  so  long  plunged,  but  to  the  operation  of  those 
principles  upon  which  the  Revolution  itself  was  found- 
ed ;  as  though  freedom  and  equal  laws  produced  nothing 
but  oppression ;  justice  and  public  order  nothing  but 
confusion ;  and  peace  and  good-will  the  most  barbarous 
and  bloody  actions.  Amongst  the  foremost  advocates  of 
this  doctrine  stood  Mr.  Burke,  who,  wholly  abandoning 
the  guidance  of  his  reason,  laboured  to  inflame  the  pas- 
sions of  his  countrymen,  till  he  almost  made  his  own 
madness  theirs.  Every  principle,  by  which  the  freedom 
and  happiness  of  man  in  civil  society  can  be  protected 
or  vindicated,  was  unhesitatingly  denounced  ;  while  those 
who  professed  such  principles  were  pointed  out  for  pro- 
scription. His  Thoughts  on  the  French  Revolution  were 
followed  by  his  Two  Letters  addressed  to  a  Member  of 
the  present  Parliament ;  in  wliich  tlie  war  he  had  waged 
with  the  principles  of  the  Revolution  in  France  was 
extended  to  those  opinions  at  home.  Eighty  thousand 
converts  in  this  country  were  stated  to  have  imbibed  the 
dangerous  doctrine,  and  to  have  become  '^  pure  Jacobins, 
utterly  incapable  of  amendment."  To  stem  this  fatiil 
tide  of  rebellion,  infidelity,  and  anarchy,  and  to  prevent 
the  least  aiij)roach  towards  pacific  sentiments,  was  the 
object  of  of  the  ''  Two  Letters."     To  that  publication, 


LIFE     OF      WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  85 

Mr.  Roscoe,  in  the  year  1796,  sent  to  the  press  a  brief 
answer,  under  the  title  of  "  Strictures  on  Mr.  Burke's 
Two  Letters  addressed  to  a  Member  of  the  present  Par- 
liament." *  In  this  pamphlet,  after  remarking  upon  the 
exaggerations  of  Mr.  Burke's  statements,  he  exposes  the 
real  object  of  his  writings,  —  the  extermination  of  liberal 
principles,  —  an  act  not  to  be  accomplished  by  the  means 
recommended  by  Mr  Burke. 

"  Let  us  endeavour  to  prevent  the  rising  of  the  sun,  or 
to  stay  the  swelhng  of  the  ocean,  for  the  material  world 
is  in  some  degree ^  subject  to  the  control  of  mechanical 
force ;  but  the  intellectual  world  scoffs  at  the  weak 
attempt  which  would  limit  its  operations  by  the  coarse 
and  clumsy  restrictions  of  bolts  and  chains." 

The  principal  part  of  the  tract  is  directed  to  the  sub- 
ject of  peace,  with  the  view  of  showing  that  the  French 
nation  had  not  been,  and  was  not,  averse  to  a  pacification, 
and  that  the  interests  of  both  countries  would  be  secured 
by  the  termination  of  the  war.  The  pamphlet  concludes 
with  the  following  remarks  upon  Mr.  Burke's  political 
character  :  — 

''  It  is  wonderfully,  and,  no  doubt,  wisely  directed  by  the 
Author  of  nature,  that  from  the  same  soil  and  climate 
from  which  some  plants  draw  their  healthful  and  nutritive 
juices,  others  collect  a  poison  the  most  destructive  to  the 
human  race.  It  would  seem,  too,  as  if  the  human  char- 
acter displayed  a  similar  diversity,  and  that  some  were 
intended  by  a  natural  rectitude  and  benevolence  of  dis- 
position to  select,  fi'om  surrounding  circumstances,  causes 
of  peace,  charity,  and  good-will,  whilst  others  can  deduce 
from  the  same  circumstances  only  the  motives  of  hatred, 
envy,  jealousy,   and    destruction.     Wherever  the   latter 

*  This   pamphlet   is  reprinted  in  the  ''Occasional   Tracts  on  the 
War."     London.     1810. 

^'OL.  I.  8 


86  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

disposition  appears,  there  is  no  proceeding  so  open  and 
generous,  no  transaction  so  honest,  no  purpose  so  virtuous, 
as  not  to  afford  food  for  its  mahgnity.  Witli  whatever  it 
comes  in  contact,  it  appropriates  it  by  a  kind  of  chemi- 
cal affinity  to  its  own  nature  ;  and  if  it  does  not  find, 
creates  in  every  thing  around  it,  gall  and  bitterness.  I 
shall  not  press  on  my  reader  the  application  of  these 
remarks  ;  but  I  confess  it  has  always  appeared  to  me 
extraordinary,  that  the  same  man,  who  persevered  during 
a  long  course  of  years,  in  instigating  the  people  of  Amer- 
ica to  resistance  against  this  country,  and,  by  measures 
which  in  these  days  would  infallibly  have  brought  him  to 
the  bar  of  a  criminal  court,  encouraged  them  to  the 
defence  of  their  independence,  should,  when  a  similar 
cirumstance  occurred  in  France,  and  when  there  was 
every  reason  to  presume  this  great  and  desirable  event 
might  be  accomplished  without  contention  and  without 
bloodshed,  have  excited  a  general  outcry  against  the 
attempt. 

*'  That  the  cases  of  America  and  France  are  exactly 
similar  will  not  indeed  be  pretended ;  but  the  difference 
between  them  was  such,  as,  upon  all  reasonable  grounds, 
should  have  redoubled  the  energies  of  his  mind  in  favour 
of  the  latter.  If  the  actuating  principle  of  JMr.  Burke 
had  been  a  generous  and  disinterested  love  of  liberty,  it 
is  not  possible  that  he  should  have  beheld  the  rising 
efforts  of  the  people  of  France  with  the  obliquity  of  jeal- 
ousy, or  the  frown  of  hostility ;  nay  it  is  not  possible  that 
he  should  not  have  felt  that  prepossession  in  their  favour, 
that  solicitude  for  their  success,  which  in  the  early  part 
of  tlie  Revolution  agitated  the  bosom  of  those  who  had 
been  his  associates  in  the  cause  of  freedom  :  but,  when 
the  moment  of  decision  arrived, — 

•  'T  was  then,  O  shame  !  O  trust,  how  ill  repaid  ! '  — 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  87 

he,  with  a  perversity  without  precedent  in  the  annals  of 
apostasy,  seized  the  operative  moment  to  pour  his  drug 
into  the  heakhful  mass,  and  it  curdled  into  poison.  From 
that  instant,  his  exertions  to  prolong,  and  by  all  possible 
methods  to  increase,  the  calamities  of  the  w^ar  which  he 
had  excited,  have  been  unremitting  and  successful ;  and 
lest  some  more  fortunate  combination  of  circumstances, 
some  returnino;  o;leam  of  human  commiseration  for  human 
sufferings,  should  lead  the  contending  parties  to  listen  to 
the  voice  of  reconciliation,  he  sedulously  collects  the 
ingredients  of  discord  from  every  passing  transaction,  and 
hoards  up  the  phial  of  his  vengeance  till  the  moment 
when  it  is  most  likely  to  produce  its  effect.  Ardent  and 
impassioned  in  the  cause  of  freedom  in  America,  whilst 
the  assertion  of  that  freedom  led  to  contention  and  blood, 
equally  impassioned  against  the  liberties  of  France,  and 
prolonging  by  every  means  in  his  power  the  duration  of 
the  war,  his  character  acquires  a  degree  of  consistency 
which  his  opponents  have  unjustly  refused  to  his  preten- 
sions. Tros  Tyriusve,  it  is  not  the  cause  that  interests 
him.  Alternately  the  advocate  of  liberty  or  despotism, 
just  as  his  support  or  his  opposition  may  serve  to  keep 
alive  the  flames  of  discord,  he  acts  up  to  the  constitution 
of  his  nature,  and  in  the  economy  of  the  moral  world 
performs  an  unwelcome,  but,  perhaps,  a  necessary  part." 
Aware  that  ridicule  is  sometimes  as  effectual  a  weapon 
as  argument,  Mr.  Roscoe  attacked  the  opinions  of  Burke 
in  verse  as  well  as  in  prose.  In  the  year  1791  he 
wrote  and  printed  a  ballad,  containing  "  The  Life,  Death, 
and  wonderful  Achievements  of  Edmund  Burke,"  which 
he  accompanied  by  a  frontispiece   etched  by  himself,* 

*  "  I  was  unluckily  out  of  town,"  says  Fuseli,  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Roscoe,  "  when  your  letter  came  with  the  enclosed  bill  and  ballad. 
The  ballad  has  some  admirable  stanzas,  but  I  like  the  tune  of  the 


88  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

representing  Burke  armed  like  a  knighl-errant,  assailing 
Mr.  Fox  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

"  Full  tilt  he  ran  at  all  he  met, 
And  round  he  dealt  liis  knocks, 
Till  with  a  backward  stroke  at  last, 
He  hit  poor  Charley  Fox. 

"  Now  Charley  was,  of  all  his  friends, 
The  Avarmest  friend  he  had  ; 
So  when  he  felt  this  graceless  blow, 
He  deemed  the  man  was  mad. 

"  With  grief  his  generous  bosom  rose, 
A  grief  too  great  to  hide  ; 
And  as  the  stroke  was  somewhat  hard, 
He  sat  him  down  and  cried. 

"  But  not  a  whit  did  Edmund  feel ; 
For  at  his  friend  lie  flew, 
Resolved,  before  the  nciglibours  round. 
To  beat  him  black  and  blue. 

"  Then  Charles  indignant  started  up, 
The  meagre  form  he  took, 
And  with  a  giant's  awful  grasp 
His  rusty  armour  shook. 

"  Oh,  have  ye  seen  a  mastiff  strong- 
A  shivering  lap-dog  tear?  — 
Tiicn  may  yo  judge  how  Ednumd  did. 
When  claw'd  by  Charles,  appear." 

Amidst  the  anxieties  which  every  friend  of  freedom  ex- 
perienced with  regard  to  the  issue  of  pul)lic  alliiirs  on  the 
Continent,  the  state  of  political  feeling  at  home  was  such 
as  to  cause  the  most  serious  apprehensions.  The  govern- 
ment and    the  more   wealthy  and   powerful    part  of  the 


bill  still  bettor.     Your   modesty  is  great  in  thinking  you  could  not 
have  etched  as  well  as  the  frontispiece." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  89 

community,  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  opinions  which 
aimed,  as  they  imagined,  at  the  overthrow  of  the  settled 
institutions  of  the  country,  regarded  with  a  timid  jealousy 
the  movements  of  their  opponents.  The  lower  orders, 
whose  prejudices  and  ignorance  suffered  them  to  be  easily 
misled,  were  prompted  to  acts  of  violence  against  those 
whom  they  were  taught  to  view  as  the  enemies  of  the 
king  and  of  the  constitution.  The  feelings  of  all  classes 
of  the  nation  were  roused  to  a  state  of  excitement  which 
threatened  the  most  dangerous  consequences,  and  the 
fever  of  the  public  mind  was  designedly  heightened  by 
the  government  itself.  The  apprehensions  of  the  weak 
and  the  passions  of  the  violent  were  confirmed  by  a 
proclamation,  representing,  in  strong  colours,  the  dangers 
to  which  the  nation  was  exposed  by  treasonable  and  sedi- 
tious designs,  and  exhorting  all  persons  to  make  diligent 
enquiry  after  the  authors  of  the  wicked  and  seditious 
writings  which  were  disseminated  over  the  country.  The 
friends  of  the  government  were  not  slow  in  answering 
the  appeal  thus  made  to  them,  and  loyal  addresses  to  the 
king  were  poured  in  from  every  quarter. 

In  the  town  of  Liverpool  the  loyal  party,  as  they 
termed  themselves,  were  not  idle.  The  mayor  of  the 
borough,  Mr.  Tarleton  (a  younger  brother  of  Sir  Banas- 
tre  Tarleton),  desirous  of  distinguishing  himself  by  his 
zeal,  caused  the  celebrated  charge  of  Mr.  Justice  Ashurst, 
and  the  address  of  the  London  Association,  to  be  reprint- 
ed and  circulated  through  the  town.  To  counteract  the 
effect  of  these  papers,  several  persons,  whose  principles 
were  regarded  as  ultra-liberal,  formed  themselves  into  a 
society,  and  published  their  resolutions  in  one  of  the 
Liverpool  papers.  To  so  high  a  pitch  had  party  feeling 
risen,  that  those  who  were  known  to  be  members  of  this 
society  were  publicly  insulted,  and,  after  a  very  short 
8* 


90  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

time,  were  compelled  to  discontinue  their  meetings.  At 
this  juncture  appeared  Mr.  Pitt's  celebrated  proclama- 
tion already  referred  to,  and  the  load  of  opprobrium 
under  which  the  friends  of  peace  and  reform  laboured 
was  doubled.  Unwilling  that  objects  and  motives,  the 
most  false  and  unjust,  should  be  imputed  to  tliose  who 
professed  the  same  principles  with  himself,  iMr.  Roscoe 
drew  up  a  declaration  expressing  the  attachment  of  those 
who  signed  it,  to  the  constitution,  and  at  the  same  time, 
their  resolution  to  seek  a  parliamentary  reform  by  all 
legal,  temperate,  and  constitutional  means.  This  declara- 
tion w^as  communicated  to  his  friends,  and  was  already 
extensively  signed,  when  the  mayor  of  Liverpool  con- 
voked a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  to  consider 
the  propriety  of  addressing  the  king.  An  opportunity 
being  thus  afforded  for  a  more  open  expression  of  opin- 
ion, the  parties  who  had  promoted  the  signing  of  the 
Declaration  resolved  to  lay  it  aside,  and  to  reserve  their 
sentiments  for  the  public  meeting.  Accordingly,  on  the 
previous  evening,  Mr.  Roscoe  prepared  the  form  of  an 
address,  pursuing,  in  a  great  measure,  the  sentiments  of 
the  Declaration,  but  containing  a  more  delicate  allusion 
to  the  subject  of  reform.  Three  addresses  having  been 
pro])osed  by  different  friends  of  the  government,  Mr. 
Birch  (now  Sir  Joseph  Birch)  introduced  that  which  had 
been  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Roscoe.  A  stormy  debate  arose 
upon  it,  and  violent  efforts  were  made  by  tlioir  ojipo- 
nents  to  prevent  the  advocates  of  peace  and  reform  from 
being  heard.  Mr.  Roscoe,  however,  and  some  of  his 
friends,  succeeded  in  addressing  the  meeting ;  and  after 
a  contest  of  nearly  two  hours  his  address  was  carried,  on 
a  show  of  hands,  by  a  considerable  majority.  The 
mayor,  who  ])resided,  having  declared  the  address  carried, 
appointed  tlie  following  Monday  (the  meeting  being  held 
on  Saturday)  for  its  signature  in  the  Town  Hall. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  91 

On  that  day  a  singular  scene  took  place.  The  pop- 
ulace, who  in  the  mean  time  had  been  excited  by 
placards  posted  on  the  walls,  assembled  round  the  doors 
of  the  Town  Hall,  and  insulted  those  who  attended  for 
the  purpose  of  signing  the  address,  which  they  defaced 
and  destroyed,  no  peace  officers  being  in  attendance  to 
prevent  this  outrage.  They  then  sent  for  the  mayor, 
called  for  his  address ;  and  upon  one  of  the  addresses 
rejected  at  the  former  meeting  being  produced,  they 
voted  it  to  be  the  Liverpool  address.  It  was  signed  as 
such  by  the  mayor  and  the  persons  present ;  and  with 
12,000  signatures  attached  to  it  was  presented  to  the 
king. 

In  a  letter  to  Lord  Lansdowne,  giving  an  account 
of  these  transactions,  Mr.  Roscoe  adds,  "  The  loss  of 
an  address,  which  I  was  in  hopes  would  have  conciliated 
all  parties,  and  put  an  end  to  our  political  dissensions 
in  Liverpool,  is  not,  however,  our  only  cause  of  regret. 
In  order  to  justify  the  violence  of  their  measures,  our 
antagonists  find  it  necessary  to  load  us  with  all  possible 
odium  ;  to  struggle  against  it  only  renders  it  more 
oppressive  ;  and  all  we  have  now  to  do  is  to  submit  in 
silence,  lest  we  occasion  others  of  a  more  personal 
nature,  with  which  several  of  us  have  been  threatened, 
both  anonymously  and  openly. 

'^  In  the  course  of  the  last  fortnight,  the  only  newspa- 
per that  would  admit  an  article  on  the  cause  of  Reform 
has  been  obliged,  by  the  violence  and  threats  of  some 
intolerant  individuals,  to  disavow  its  principles,  and  pro- 
fess a  thorough  devotion  to  the  prevailing  frenzy  ;  and 
though  there  are  four  weekly  papers  published,  there  is 
not  one  that  will  admit  a  contradiction  to  the  grossest 
calumnies  that  can  be  devised  against  the  friends  of  Re- 


9'2  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

form,  who  have  not  now  a  i)ubHc  organ  by  which  they 
can  address  the  town  of  Liverpool." 

Not  satisfied  with  repressing  by  every  means  in  their 
power  the  progress  of  French  principles  at  home,  the 
government  ultimately  resolved  to  attempt  the  extermi- 
nation of  them  in  the  country  where  they  had  their 
birth.  There  have  been  few  periods  in  our  history  at 
which  a  war  with  France  has  been  unpopular  ;  and  when 
hostilities  with  the  French  Republic  were  announced,  the 
intelligence  was  received  with  a  general  expression  of 
satisfaction  throughout  the  nation.  As  yet  we  had  not 
been  taught  the  bitter  lesson,  that  the  triumphs  of  our 
arms  may  be  too  dearly  purchased,  and  that  a  few  years 
of  successful  achievements  in  war  may  be  followed  by 
ages  of  national  difficulty  and  distress.  To  those  who, 
like  Mr.  Roscoe,  regarded  all  wars  not  resorted  to  from 
the  most  urgent  necessity  as  iniquitous  and  wicked,  and 
who  looked  with  peculiar  aversion  upon  an  attempt  like 
this  to  repress  the  liberties  of  a  foreign  country  by 
force  of  arms,  the  war  with  France  was  doubly  odious. 
The  commercial  difficulties  in  which  the  country  became 
deeply  involved,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  hostili- 
ties, gave  him  an  opportunity,  in  attempting  to  trace  out 
the  causes  of  these  embarrassments,  to  express  publicly 
his  opinion  of  the  injustice  and  impolicy  of  the  war. 
The  extensive  mercantile  failures  whicli  took  place  in 
the  year  1793  were  accounted  for  in  various  ways.  By 
some,  tlicir  origin  was  attributed  to  the  undue  extension 
of  paper  circulation  ;  and  by  others,  to  the  improvident 
speculations  of  individuals ;  but  a  dilTerent  cause  was 
assigned  to  them  by  Mr.  Roscoe.  He  justly  regarded 
them  as  owing  to  the  sudden  transition  from  a  state  of 
peace  to  that  of  war;  which,  by  affecting  all  the  foreign 
commercial  relations  of  the  country,  was  destructive  to 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  93 

mercantile  credit.  These  opinions  he  embodied  in  a 
short  pamphlet,  which  he  published  under  the  title  of 
^'  Thoughts  on  the  Causes  of  the  present  Failures."  * 
The  work  attracted  some  attention ;  and  was  noticed  by 
the  late  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  in  the  House  of  Lords.  — 
^'  I  was  so  much  delighted  with  your  little  tract,"  says 
that  nobleman,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  "  that  I  could 
not  help  mentioning  both  it  and  the  author,  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  in  the  terms  which  they  deserve.  The  min- 
istry, when  I  mentioned  it,  affected  to  sneer  at  it ;  but  I 
have  the  pleasure  to  tell  you,  that  several  members  of 
both  Houses  have  been  as  much  struck  with  it  as  my- 
self. Your  principles  do  you  as  much  honour,  as  I  feel 
your  friendship  must  always  do  me.  *  *  ='^  It  will  give 
me  always  pleasure  to  hear  from  you,  and  I  hope  you 
won't  forget  the  public."  f 

But  the  interest  felt  by  Mr.  Roscoe  in  political  affairs 
did  not  prevent  him  from  prosecuting  his  schemes  of 
literary  improvement.  The  study  of  the  Italian  writers 
employed  at  this  time  the  greater  part  of  his  leisure  ; 
and  he  was  thus  gradually  familiarising  himself  with  that 
extensive  subject,  which  he  afterwards  so  successfully 
illustrated.  In  the  society,  also,  of  the  intelligent  friends 
by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  he  found  a  relief,  both  from 
the  anxieties  of  his  profession  and  from  the  disappoint- 
ment of  his  pohtical  views.  The  occasional  meetings, 
which  took  place  in  an  evening  at  the  houses  of  Mr. 
Roscoe  and  his  friends,  assumed  so  agreeable  a  char- 
acter, that  it  was  determined  to  give  them  a  more 
permanent  form  ;  and  "The  Literary  Society "  was 
consequently  founded.      Amongst    the  members  of  this 


*  London :     J,    Johnson.      1793.      Republished    in    ''  Occasional 
Tracts  relative  to  the  War."     London.     1810. 
t  Letter  dated  14th  May,  1793. 


94  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

friendly  association  were  Dr.  Currie,  the  Rev.  W.  Shep- 
herd, the  Rev.  John  Yates,  Professor  Smyth,  Mr.  Rath- 
bone,  Dr.  Rutter,  and  Mr.  Roscoe.  Their  meetings 
were  held  every  fortnight,  at  their  respective  houses ; 
and  the  hour  before  supper  was  devoted  to  the  reading 
of  papers  or  the  discussion  of  literary  questions.  But 
even  this  peaceful  and  unoffending  company  was  not 
exempt  from  the  violence  of  party  feeling.  Upon  the 
appearance  of  Mr.  Pitt's  proclamation  against  seditious 
meetings,  and  the  consequent  odium  in  which  all  who 
professed  liberal  principles  were  involved,  the  Literary 
Society  found  their  meetings  viewed  with  so  much  sus- 
picion and  jealousy,  that  it  was  thought  proper,  for  the 
tmie,  to  discontinue  them,  nor  were  they  afterwards 
resumed.  This  circumstance  is  referred  to  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  letter  addressed  at  the  time  to  the 
Marquis  of  Lansdo\Mie  :  — 

"  It  was  my  intention  to  have  stated  to  your  Lordship 
some  other  mstances  of  the  consequences  felt  under 
the  present  system,  where  every  man  is  called  on  to  be  a 
spy  upon  his  brother;  but  I  have  already  intruded  much 
too  far  on  your  Lordship's  time.  I  must,  however, 
mention  that  I  have,  for  upwards  of  ten  years,  been  a 
member  of  a  little  society  of  about  a  dozen  persons  (Dr. 
Currie  and  others),  who  have,  during  that  time,  met  in 
rotation  at  each  other's  houses.  The  object  of  our 
meeting  was  merely  literary  ;  but  suspicion  has  for  some 
time  gone  abroad  about  us,  and  I  have  good  reason  to 
believe  we  have  been  thought  of  importance  enough  to 
be  pointed  out  to  government  by  the  collector  of  the 
customs  here.  Some  of  us  having  openly  appeared  on 
the  late  address,  has,  I  believe,  completed  the  business ; 
and,  in  the  present  state  of  things,  we  have  thought  it 
expedient  to  suspend  our  future  meetings." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  95 

It  was  at  this  stormy  and  threatening  period  that  the 
following  sonnet  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Shepherd  to  his 
r   li'iend :  — 

SONNET    ADDRESSED    TO    MR.    ROSCOE. 

"  When  darkening  clouds  surcharge  the  moistened  air, 

And  frowning  tempests  roll  along  the  sky, 
The  prudent  shepherd  drives  his  fleecy  care 

Where  the  grey  rock  uplifts  its  head  on  high : 
There,  undisturb'd,  he  hears  the  roaring  wind, 

And  sees  before  him  sweep  the  driving  rain ; 
Or  'tween  the  gusts,  beneath  the  crag  reclined. 

In  fading  distance  eyes  the  troubled  main : 
So,  when  intestine  broils  or  foreiorn  raofe 

With  angry  tumult  fire  the  public  breast, 
Let  us,  my  Roscoe,  fly  the  maddening  age. 

And  'mid  domestic  comforts  calmly  rest. 
When  wrath  and  discord  through  the  nations  roam. 
Thrice  happy  who  possess  and  prize  a  peaceful  home." 

Early  in  life  ]Mr.  Roscoe  had  acquired  a  lively  taste 
for  country  pleasures  and  agricultural  pursuits ;  a  taste 
which,  for  many  years,  he  had  little  opportunity  of 
indulging.  About  the  year  1792,  in  travelling  from 
Manchester  to  Liverpool,  he  was  struck  with  the  exten- 
sive track  of  uncultivated  moss-land,  which  runs  for  some 
miles  along  the  road  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Manches- 
ter ;  and  it  occurred  to  him,  that  the  draining  and  im- 
provement of  this  land  might  be  made  a  source  of 
profit,  as  well  as  a  work  of  public  utility.  In  conjunc- 
tion, therefore,  with  his  friend,  Mr.  Thomas  Wakefield, 
who  had  been  engaored  in  a  similar  undeitakino:,  he 
resolved  to  apply  for  a  lease  of  the  moss ;  for  the  pur- 
pose of  procuring  which  they  visited  London  in  the 
winter  of  1792.  Being  detained  in  town  for  some  weeks 
by  this  business,  Mr.    Roscoe    had   an   opportunity   of 


enjoying  the  society  of  many  friends  whom  he  highly 
valued,  and  of  gratifying  his  taste  hy  the  purchase  of  a 
few  works  of  art.  The  following  short  extracts  are 
selected  from  his  letters  to  ]\Irs.  Roscoe,  written  during 
this  visit :  — 

"  You  nmst  not  conceive,  because  I  have  not  troubled 
you  with  the  particulars  of  our  transactions  and  disap- 
pointments, we  had  not  a  specific  object  in  view.  The 
truth  is,  we  have  been  led  on  day  by  day,  always 
hoping  the  accomplishment  of  our  purpose,  and  as  often 
frustrated.  To-day  has,  however,  brought  us  to  a 
point ;  and  W.  and  I  have  oftered  a  sum  of  money, 
which,  I  believe,  will  remove  further  objections,  and 
put  matters  in  train,  in  which  case  it  is  probable  that 
two  or  three  weeks  may  restore  me  to  the  place  where 
all  my  affections  are  centered. 

"  On  Saturday  I  dined  with  the  Marquis  of  Lans- 
downe,  in  a  family  party,  and  am  to  breakfast  with  him 
some  day  this  week.  On  Thursday  I  am  to  meet  Dr. 
Priestley  at  Dr.  Aikin's.  In  short,  I  endeavour  to 
amuse  myself  as  well  as  I  can,  and  (don't  be  alarmed) 
am  not  altogether  unsuccessful.  Fuseli  sat  with  me  at 
mv  lodirino-s  last  ni";ht.  We  dined  with  him  a  few 
days  since ;  so  that  you  see  tliere  is  nothing  to  be 
apprehended  for  my  healtli  and  safety. 
#         #         *         *         * 

"  Should  D.  D.*  tell  you  that  1  have  bought  a  large 
and  magnificent  collection  of  pictures,  don't  believe 
him  —  it's  no  such  thing  —  a  few  trifles  by  which  I  shall 
gain  cent,  per  cent.,  and  Dan  shall  be  the  first  man  I 
take  in. 

"  I  have  many  hopes  of  accomplishing  our  purpose  ; 
and  if  that  be   done,    perhaps  your  vision   of  the  little 


*  xMr.  Daulby. 


comfortable  cot,  and  peace  and  contentment,  and  laugh- 
ing at  the  follies  and  faults  of  the  world,  may  be  real- 
ised. For  my  own  part,  I  am  indifferent  as  to  every 
thing  but  being  restored  to  the  bosom  of  my  family, 
whether  it  be  in  town  or  country." 

The  same  strong  attachment  to  domestic  society  is 
expressed  in  the  following  letter :  — 

"  This  negotiation,  with  other  affairs  I  have  on  hand, 
has  kept  me  in  close  and  perpetual  employment ;  and 
it  was  with  great  difficulty  I  got  to  dine  at  Dr.  Aikin's 
yesterday,  where  I  met  with  Dr.  Priestley,  Dr.  Rees, 
Mr.  Belsham,  &z:c.,  and  passed  a  few  agreeable  hours. 

"  My  way  of  life  here  I  contrive  to  make  as  agreeable 
as  circumstances  will  permit.  The  affairs  I  have  on 
hand  employ  my  full  attention  all  day  ;  but  you  will 
easily  judge  I  am  not  much  pleased  with  my  solitary 
parlour  in  the  evening,  when  my  thoughts  all  turn 
towards  my  own  little  fireside.  I  am  not,  however, 
foolish  enough  to  torment  myself  because  I  cannot  at 
all  times  enjoy  the  pleasures  dearest  to  my  heart.  A 
temporary  absence  of  this  kind  is  at  times  inevitable ; 
and  if  we  have  only  the  happiness  of  meeting  again, 
and  seeing  our  little  fellows  in  good  health,  it  will 
repay  us  for  the  anxiety  of  our  separation." 

"  After  hving  a  fortnight  in  the  hurry  of  a  coffee- 
room,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  a  letter  written  soon  after 
the  foregoing,  "  I  am  now  writing  this  letter  in  private 
lodgings,  which  I  find  very  comfortable.  The  impossi- 
bility of  being  alone  for  a  moment  would,  in  another 
week,  have  made  me  half  crazy ;  but  here  I  hope  to  be 
able  to  summon  up  what  little  philosophy  I  have,  and  to 
learn  to  bear  my  present  separation  from  the  dear  objects 
of  my  love,  with  temper  and  resolution,  considering  that 
what  I  am  now  endeavouring  to  attain  will,  probably,  in 

VOL.    I.  9 


the  end,  enable  us  to  place  ourselves  in  a  situation  some- 
what more  suitable  to  our  wishes,  and  add  to  the  many 
blessings  we  already  experience,  that  of  being  able  to 
render  some  serivces  to  those  about  us. 

"  I  have  seen  my  old  friend,  David  Samwell  *,  who 
did  not  at  first  recognise  me,  as  I  should  scarcely  have 
done  him  ;  but,  on  mentioning  my  name,  he  was  highly 
pleased  to  see  me.  He  is  to  take  me  to  the  Leverian 
Museum,  and  to  explain  the  South  Sea  curiosities,  &ic. 
In  a  world  like  this,  where  our  friends  are  constantly 
slipping  from  our  sides,  it  is  highly  gratifying  to  meet 
with  an  honest  fellow,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  twenty- 
five  years." 

The  friendship  of  Mr.  Roscoe  with  Lord  Lansdowne, 
and  the  character  which  he  had  already  acquired  for 
liberal  studies,  were  the  means  of  introducing  him  to 
most  of  the  distinii-uished  foreimers  who  visited  Liver- 
pool.  Amongst  others,  a  young  Danish  nobleman,  the 
Count  Rantzau,  brought  recommendations  to  him  in  the 
year  1793,  which  led  to  a  friendship  not  commonly 
arising  from  so  transient  an  acquaintance.  The  excel- 
lent dispositions  of  this  young  nobleman  manifested 
themselves  on  his  return  to  his  estates,  in  an  act  of 
justice  and  humanity,  referred  to  by  Mr.  Roscoe  in  the 
following  letter,  addressed  to  the  Count  in  the  year 
1796:  — 

"  Inexcusable  as  I  must  appear  to  you,  in  not  having 
acknowledged  the  favour  of  your  letter  dated  so  long 
since  as  llth  February,  1794,  I  have  not  forgotten  the 
very  pleasant  hours  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  you  on 


*  An  early  companion  of  Mr.  Roscoe.  lie  accompanied  Captain 
Cook  in  one  of  hi.s  \'oyages.  A  copious  journal  kejtt  during  this 
voyarrc  by  Mr.  Sam  well  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Roscoe 's 
family. 


your  visit  to  Liverpool,  nor  have  I  once  ceased  to  feel 
those  sentiments  of  sincere  and  respectful  esteem  to 
which  that  visit  gave  rise.  The  truth  is,  that  having 
unavoidably  deferred  writing  for  a  short  time,  and  under- 
standing from  your  letters  that  you  were  then  under- 
taking a  journey  to  Northern  Jutland,  I  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  your  destination,  till  I  had  the  pleasure,  a  few 
weeks  since,  to  see  your  near  relation  and  friend.  Baron 
Buckwald,  who  honoured  me  with  a  visit,  and  gratified 
my  enquiries  respecting  you.  From  him  I  learned 
(what  I  assure  you  gave  me  great  pleasure)  that  you 
had  entered  into  the  matrimonial  state,  and  had  reason 
to  expect  every  happiness  which  it  can  afford.  It  was 
with  no  less  satisfaction  I  found  that  you  had  executed 
the  benevolent  intention  which  you  did  me  the  honour 
of  mentioning  to  me,  and  had  liberated  your  numerous 
vassals  within  your  estates  in  Holstein.  The  accomplish- 
ments of  rank,  or  the  acquisitions  of  science,  may  com- 
mand respect  and  admiration ;  but  I  venerate  the  man 
who  can  break  through  the  prejudices  of  an  unjust, 
though  long  established  custom,  and  who  finds  a  grat- 
ification in  exchanging  the  authority  and  name  of  a 
master,  for  the  more  honorable  title  of  a  benefactor,  a 
father,  and  a  friend.  I  hope  and  trust  that  such  exam- 
ples of  a  wise  and  enlightened  policy  will  not  be  with- 
out their  effect ;  and  that  the  liberty  and  happiness  of 
the  northern  kingdoms  of  Europe  may  be  effected  by 
just  and  gradual  steps,  without  those  dreadful  commo- 
tions which  have  been  occasioned  in  other  countries  by 
the  blind  obstinacy  of  the  rulers,  and  the  headlong  im- 
petuosity of  the  people." 

Of  the  noble  act  to  which  Mr.  Roscoe  refers,  a 
more  particular  account  is  given  by  Count  Rantzau,  in 
his  answer  to  the  preceding  letter. 


"  Haviiif]^,  since  a  long  time,  given  up  every  hope  of 
keeping  any  place  in  your  memory,  I  was  most  agree- 
ably surprised  by  receiving  your  ilnoiu'  of  tlie  30th  of 
September,  and  I  seize  with  pleasure  the  opportunity 
you  have  the  kindness  of  offering,  to  keep  up  a  connec- 
tion which  I  shall  always  consider  as  one  of  the  most 
interesting  fruits  of  my  travels. 

"  I  may  not  conceal  to  you  how  much  the  approba- 
tion of  my  conduct,  which  a  man  in  a  far  distant  country, 
whom  age  and  knowledge  places  far  above  me,  flatters 
myself.  It  gives  me  the  courage  to  entertain  you  further 
of  those  steps  which  are  made  in  a  small  and  peaceable 
country  towards  the  civil  accomplishment  of  the  state  of 
society. 

"  It  was  in  the  year  1794,  I  granted  liberty  and  prop- 
erty to  the  glch(E  adscriptis  of  my  estate.  In  1796, 
shortly  after  my  return  from  Italy,  the  noblemen  and 
country  gentlemen  instituted  a  committee  to  examine  the 
state  of  slavery  in  Hoistein.  The  lovers  of  ancient  time 
endeavoured  to  abuse  this  measure  as  a  mean  for  con- 
tinuing in  our  former  state.  Having  been  so  happy  as 
to  be  elected  a  member  of  the  committee,  consisting  of 
eight  noblemen  and  four  gentlemen,  I  proposed  the  total 
abolition  of  slavery  in  Hoistein  and  Sleswick,  and  was 
so  happy  to  carry  the  measure,  after  the  debate  had 
lasted  about  thirteen  months.  This  resolution  was  signed 
the  11th  of  INIarch,  and  is  already  submitted  to  the  royal 
apj)robati()n.  The  latter  i)art  of  this  century  has  seen 
many  examples  of  sovereigns  restoring  part  of  their  sub- 
jects to  the  rights  of  which  another  part  had  deprived 
them,  but  I  think  it  tlie  very  first  instance,  where  a 
privileged  order  has  voluntarily  received  their  slaves  into 
the  rank  of  citizens.  If  you  see  Lord  Lansdowne,  I 
beg  you  to  do  me   the   favour  to    inform   him   of  this. 


I  am  sure  a  thing  of  this  nature  will,  notwithstanding  the 
remoteness  of  the  theatre  and  the  smallness  of  the  object, 
merit  the  attention  and  interest  of  that  great  man." 

How  long  this  interesting  correspondence  was  kept  up, 
does  not  appear.  But  the  following  letter,  addressed  by 
the  Countess  Rantzau  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  1814,  evinces 
the  confidence  and  attacliment  with  which  her  husband 
had  always  continued  to  regard  his  friend  :  — 

''  Kiel,  en  Holstein,  le  16  Fevrier,  1814. 

"  Monsieur, 

"  C'est  une  inconnue.  Monsieur,  qui  vous  approche 
avec  confiance.  C'est  la  meilleure  amie,  la  triste  veuve, 
d'un  homme  qui  a  passe  les  plus  beaux  momens  de  sa 
jeunesse  dans  votre  pays,  qui  est  reste  a  jamais  le  pa- 
radis  de  son  imagination.  Vous  I'avez  alors  comble  de 
vos  bontes  ;  il  ne  m'en  a  jamais  parle  sans  emotion  ; 
plusieurs  de  vos  lettres  et  des  marques  distinguees  de 
votre  souvenir  I'ont  honore  depuis  et  sensiblement  re- 
joui.  M.  Niebuhr,  que  le  Cte.  Rantzau  a  ose  plus  tard 
vous  recommander,  lui  en  a  su  un  gre  inexprimable  —  et 
c'est  moi  qui  viens  aujourd'hui,  —  sans  aucun  merite  — 
sans  aucun  motif  que  la  confiance  dans  votre  noble 
cceur,  —  et  le  souvenir  que  vous  portez,  peut-etre  en- 
core, a  I'homme  aimable,  adore  —  qui  n'est  plus, — re- 
clamer  vos  conseils. 

"  Je  medite,  Monsieur,  d'envoyer  mes  deux  fils  aines 
a  Edinbourg,"  he.  Madame  Rantzau  then  states  her 
views  with  reo;ard  to  the  education  of  her  sons,  and  re- 
quests  Mr.  Roscoe's  advice  and  assistance  in  her  arrange- 
ments for  their  benefit ;  she  then  concludes  — 

"  Enfin,  Monsieur,  mettez-vous  a  la  place  d'une  pauvre 
mere,  triste,  malheureuse,  abandonnee  trop  tot,  helas ! 
par  le  soutien  adore,  clairvoyant,  qui  guidait  toutes  ses 
9# 


^ 


demarclies  !  All!  vous  iie  savez  j)as  a  fjucl point  I'homme 
incomparable,  qui  n'est  plus,  avait  tenu  parole. 

"  J'ose  le  dire  sans  aveuglenient  qu'il  reunissait  a  I'esprit 
le  plus  ninr,  le  plus  riche,  le  plus  serieux,  le  cceur  le  plus 
elevee,  le  plus  dcslnteresse,  le  plus  tendre  ;  j'ai  vu  dis- 
paraitre  tout  cela,  je  I'ai  \m  a  la  fleur  de  ses  ans  fermer 
les  yeux.  J'ai  survecu,  parceque  Dieu  I'a  voulu ;  je 
suis  faible,  et  nialavise,  et  je  voudrais  que  ses  enfans 
fussent  di^mes  d'un  tel  pere. 

''  La  confiance  m'a  entraine  vers  vous,  qu'il  honorait 
d'une  nianiere  peu  commune.  Vous  ne  sauriez  croire, 
Monsieur,  combien  il  cberissait  le  souvenir  des  terns 
qu'il  avait  passe  avec  vous,  et  que  de  fois,  que  de  fois 
il  m'en  a  parlc  avec  attcndrissement.  Daignez  done 
me  pardonner  et  de  me  le  dire !  J'ai  perdu  ce  meilleur 
ami  il  y  a  deux  ans.  Dites-moi  que  vous  pardonnez. 
Monsieur,  a  votrc  tres-humble  et  tres-obligee  servante, 

'^  La  Co3itesse  de  Rantzau, 

"  nee  Baronne  de  Diede. 

''  SoufFrez  aussi  que  je  vous  remercie.  Monsieur,  du 
plaisir  que  m'a  cause  votre  incomparable  livre  des  Me- 
dicis  ;  il  m'a  distrait  dans  des  momens  ou  j'etais  fort  triste. 
Quoique  vous  ecrivez  en  Fran^ais  avec  la  meme  facilite, 
je  pr.'fcrais  que  voulussiez  repondre  en  Anglais,  seule- 
nient  je  n'ai  pas  eu  le  courage  de  vous  ecrire  dans  cette 
langue." 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Roscoe  returned  the  following  an- 
swer :  — 

"  Madam, 

"  I  bad  lately  the  honour  of  receiving  your  letter, 
dated  the  IGtb  of  February  last,  connnunicating  to  me 
your  views  and  intentions  with  respect  to  the  sons  of  my 


highly  respected  and  amiable  friend,  of  whose  early  loss 
I  first  received  the  painful  account  from  your  letter. 
Short  as  was  the  time  during  which  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  Count  Rantzau's  acquaintance,  I  know  sufficient  of 
him  to  be  able  to  appreciate  his  many  great  and  excel- 
lent qualities,  and  deeply  to  feel  for  you.  Madam,  who 
have  been  so  early  deprived  of  his  affection  and  so- 
ciety. 

'-  It  is,  however,  gratifying  to  me  to  find,  that  this 
afflicting  dispensation  of  Providence  has  been  supported 
by  you  in  a  manner  worthy  the  chosen  companion  of 
such  a  man,  and  that  your  attention  and  care  are  ear- 
nestly devoted  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible,  the 
disadvantages  his  children  must  experience  from  the  loss 
of  such  a  parent.  Happy,  indeed,  should  I  be,  w^ere  it 
in  my  power  to  suggest  any  thing  that  might  assist  your 
kind  maternal  efforts,  or  give  any  useful  information  as 
to  the  plans  you  propose  to  adopt." 

Mr.  Roscoe  concludes  the  letter  with  giving  her  the 
information  she  desired,  and  requesting  to  be  honoured 
freely  with  her  commands. 

Hitherto  the  residence  of  Mr.  Roscoe  had  been  en- 
tirely confined  to  the  town  of  Liverpool ;  but,  in  the 
course  of  the  year  1790,  he  removed  to  a  house  pleas- 
antly situated  at  Toxteth  Park,  about  two  miles  from 
Liv^erpool.  The  principal  attraction  of  this  residence 
was  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  small  but  beautiful 
dingle,  leading  to  the  shores  of  the  Mersey,  and  pre- 
senting many  delightful  prospects  of  the  river,  and 
the  country  beyond.  The  distance  from  Liverpool 
was  not  such  as  to  prevent  Mr.  Roscoe  either  from 
attending  to  his  professional  engagements  with  punctu- 
ality, or  from  enjoying  the  society  of  the  friends  to  whom 
he  was  attached,  some  of  whose  residences  were,  indeed, 


broiinjht  nearer  to  liiiii  by  the  cliange.  It  was  the  beauty 
of  "  tlic  Diniile"  tliat  suggested  to  his  mind  the  follow- 
ing little  poem,  certainly  one  of  the  most  pleasing  pro- 
ductions of  his  pen  :  — 

"  INSCRIPTION. 

"  Stran<Tcr !  that  -vvith  careless  feet 
Waiulcrest  near  this  green  retreat, 
Where  through  gently  bending  slopes 
Soft  the  distant  prospect  opes  ; 

"  Where  the  fern,  in  fringed  pride. 
Decks  tlie  lonely  valley's  side ; 
Where  the  whitethroat  chirps  his  song. 
Flitting  as  thou  tread'st  along: 

"  Know,  where  now  thy  footsteps  pass 
O'er  tlie  bending  tufts  of  grass, 
Bright  gleaming  through  the  encircling  wood, 
Once  a  Naiad  roll'd  her  flood. 

"  If  her  urn,  unknown  to  Fame, 
Pour'd  no  far  extended  stream, 
Yet  along  its  grassy  side. 
Clear  and  constant  roll'd  the  tide. 

"  Grateful  for  the  tribute  paid. 
Lordly  Mersey  lov'd  the  maid  ; 
Yonder  rocks  still  mark  the  place 
Where  she  met  his  stern  embrace. 

"  Stranger,  curious,  would'st  thou  learn 
Why  she  mourns  her  wasted  urn  ? 
Soon  a  sliort  and  simple  verse 
Shall  iier  liapless  fate  rehearse. 

"  Ere  yon  neighbouring  spires  arose, 
That  the  upland  prospect  close, 
Or  ere  aloni^  tlie  startled  shore 
Echoed  loud  tlie  cannon's  roar ; 


"  Once  the  maid,  in  summer's  heat, 
Careless  left  her  cool  retreat. 
And  by  sultry  suns  opprest, 
Laid  her  Avearied  limbs  to  rest ; 

"  Forgetful  of  her  daily  toil, 
To  trace  each  humid  tract  of  soil. 
From  dews  and  bounteous  showers  to  bring 
The  limpid  treasures  of  her  spring. 

"  Enfeebled  by  the  scorching  ray, 
She  slept  the  circling  hours  away ; 
And  when  she  oped  her  languid  eye, 
She  found  her  silver  urn  was  dry. 

"  Heedless  Stranger !  who  so  long 
Hast  listen'd  to  an  idle  song. 
Whilst  trifles  thus  thy  notice  share, 
Hast  thou  no  urn  that  asks  thy  care  ?  " 

Mr.  Roscoe  continued  to  reside  at  Toxteth  Park  for 
three  years,  when,  having  purchased  some  land  at  Birch- 
field,  on  the  north  side  of  Liverpool,  he  erected  a  house 
upon  it  for  himself,  to  which  he  removed  in  the  year 
1793. 


■I 

Hi 


CHAPTER    V. 


1795. 


First  idea  of  writinor  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  —  want  of  ma- 
terials  —  assistance  rendered  by  Mr.  William  Clarke  at  Florence  — 
progress  of  the  work  —  printing  of  the  inedited  poems  of  Lorenzo 

—  the  Life  sent  to  press. —  Mr.  M'Creery. —  Lord  Orford's  opin- 
ion.—  Letter  to  Lord  Lansdowne.  —  Publication  of  the  Life  — 
its  popularity.  —  Letters  from  Lord  Orford  and  Lord  Bristol.  — 
Opinions  on  the  work — Lord  Lansdowne,  Dr.  Aikin,  the  author 
of  the  *•  Pursuits  of  Literature"  —  correspondence  with  the  latter. 

—  Letters  from  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker  and  Fuseli.  — I)r-  Parr's  criti- 
cisms,  and  correspondence  with  him.  —  Favourable  reception  from 
the  periodical  critics  —  review  by  Fuseli  in  the  Analytical  Review 

—  success  of  the  work  abroad  —  opinions  of  the  Italian  scholars 
Fabroni  and  Bandini  —  translation  into  Italian  by  the  Cav.  Me- 
cherini,  and  correspondence  with  him  —  criticism  of  the  Abate 
Andres  —  opinions  of  Morelli  and  Moreni  —  translation  into  Ger- 
man by  Sprengel  —  letter  to  him  —  translation  into  French  — 
republication  in  America. 

It  has  already  been  observed,  that  the  idea  of  writing 
tlie  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  occurred  to  Mr.  Roscoe 
at  an  early  period  of  his  life,  when,  with  the  assistance 
of  his  friend,  Francis  Holden,  he  first  began  to  study 
the  literature  of  Italy.  Amid  the  avocations  of  business, 
and  the  variety  of  other  pursuits  in  which  his  taste  or 
his  duty  led  him  to  engage,  the  design  slumbered,  but 
was  not  forgotten.  In  perusing  the  Italian  historians, 
and  especially  the  Florentine  annals  of  Machiavelli  and 
Annnirato,  he  was  accustomed  to  note  the  various  pas- 
sages which  threw  a  lii^ht  on  the  life  and  character  of 
Lorenzo.     His  readin<r  was  at  the  same  time  directed  as 


well  to  the  writers  of  that  age,   as  to  those  later  au- 
thors, such  as  Crescembeni,  Muratori,  and  Tiraboschi, 
who    have    illustrated    the    literature    of    their   country 
by  their  critical  labours.     Unfortunately,  Liverpool  did 
not  at  that  period  possess  any  public  library  to  which, 
when  he  found   his   own   collection    deficient,  he   could 
resort ;    and  amongst  the   first  difficulties  which  he  ex- 
perienced  in  the  prosecution  of  his  task,  was  the  heavy 
and  discourao-inff  one  of  a  want  of  materials.     This  de- 
ficiency  he  had  in  part  supplied  by  the  diligence  with 
which  he  examined  the  catalogues  of  the  London  book- 
sellers, and  the  zeal  with  which,  during  his  visits  to  the 
metropolis,  he  sought  for  the  volumes  which  his  labours 
required.     Fortunately,  also,  the   sale  of  the  Crevenna 
and   Pinelli    libraries,    occurring  at  this  period,  enabled 
him   to    procure  many  scarce   and  valuable  works,   for 
which  he  had  hitherto  enquired  in  vain.     But  the  riches 
treasured  up  in  the  literary  repositories  of  Italy  still  re- 
mained inaccessible  to  him ;  and  his  professional  engage- 
ments precluded  every  idea  of  his  being  able  to  make 
a  personal  examination  of  them.     Even  if  the  zeal  of  a 
foreign  agent  could  be  relied  upon,  who  could  be  dis- 
covered with  knowledge  and  judgment  equal  to  the  task? 
"  The  impracticability  of  obtaining  in  this  country,"  says 
Mr.  Roscoe,   in   the   preface  to   his   Life    of   Lorenzo, 
"  the  information  of  which  I  stood  in  need,  would  per- 
haps have  damped  the  ardour  of  any  undertaking,  had 
not  a  circumstance   presented  itself,  in  the   highest  de- 
gree favourable    to    my  purpose.     An   intimate    friend, 
with  whom  I  had   been    many  years  united   in  studies 
and  affection,  had  paid  a  visit  to  Italy,  and   had  fixed 
his  winter  residence  at  Florence.     I  well  knew  that  I 
had  only  to  request  his   assistance,  in  order  to  obtain 
whatever  information  he  had  an  opportunity  of  procur- 


ing,  from  the  very  spot  wliich  was  to  be  the  scene  of 
my  intended  history.  My  enquiries  were  particularly 
directed  to  the  Laurentian  and  Riccardi  Libraries,  which 
I  was  convinced  would  afford  much  ori(,rinal  and  interest- 
ing information.  It  would  be  unjust,  merely  to  say  that 
my  friend  afforded  me  tlie  assistance  I  required  ;  he 
went  far  beyond  even  the  hopes  I  had  formed ;  and 
his  return  to  his  native  land  was,  if  possible,  rendered 
still  more  grateful  to  me,  by  the  materials  he  had  col- 
lected for  my  use." 

The  gentleman  to  whom  Mr.  Roscoe  was  indebted 
for  these  important  obligations,  was  Mr.  William  Clarke, 
the  companion  of  his  early  studies,  and  the  devoted 
friend  of  his  maturer  life.  The  state  of  his  health  having 
compelled  him  to  seek  a  milder  climate,  he  selected 
Italy  as  the  place  of  his  residence  ;  and  arriving  in  that 
country  in  1789,  he  resolved  to  pass  the  winter  at 
Fiesole,  where  he  rented  a  furnished  riUida  for  the  term 
of  six  months.  The  distance  of  Fiesole  from  Florence 
not  beinjT  more  than  three  miles,  Mr.  Clarke  was  in  the 
daily  habit  of  visiting  the  latter  place,  and  of  spending 
his  mornings  In  the  public  libraries.  Thus  situated  in 
the  midst  of  those  treasures  which  Mr.  Roscoe  so  ar- 
dently desired  to  possess,  himself  an  excellent  classical 
scholar,  and  devoted  to  literary  occupations,  no  one  could 
have  been  discovered  better  qualified  than  Mr.  Clarke 
for  the  agreeable  task  wliich  his  friend  Imposed  upon 
him.  At  tlie  close  of  the  year  1789,  Mr.  Roscoe  in- 
formed him  of  his  design,  and  requested  his  assistance 
in  the  prosecution  of  it.  This  was  readily  and  joyfully 
granted  ;  thoui^h  not  witliout  many  expressions  of  regret 
that  his  friend  was  unable  personally  to  join  him  in  his 
researches.  "  I  wish,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  dated  Jan- 
uary 9,  1790,  "  you  could  have  come  into  Italy  yourself, 


to  animate  my  researches,  or  rather  to  render  them 
useless,  by  your  native  penetration  and  accumulated 
spavoir:''  and  again,  in  a  letter  written  during  the  fol- 
lowing month,  —  "How  much  I  lament  the  impossibility 
of  our  being  together  in  Florence  !  A  month  passed 
on  the  spot  would  considerably  enrich  your  work.  As 
I  fear  it  cannot  be  as  I  wish,  accept  my  endeavours  to 
supply  the  desideratum." 

The  zeal  and  dilig^ence  of  Mr.  Clarke  in  the  service 
of  his  friend,  induced  him  to  lose  no  time  in  enquiring 
into  the  various  literary  repositories  of  Florence.  To 
the  credit  of  the  Grand  Duke,  his  palaces,  galleries, 
museums,  and  libraries,  were  thrown  open,  in  the  most 
liberal  manner,  to  every  stranger  desirous  of  visiting 
them ;  while,  in  the  other  cities  of  Italy,  access  to  the 
public  collections  was  only  to  be  obtained  by  means  of 
a  bribe.  Even  the  public  archives  and  state  papers, 
lodged  in  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  —  documents,  which  the 
jealousy  of  other  governments  has  guarded  with  a  scru- 
pulous secrecy,  —  were  accessible,  on  presenting  to  the 
Grand  Duke  a  memorial,  the  prayer  of  which  was  never 
refused.  To  these  valuable  repositories,  and  also  to  the 
extensive  library  of  the  Marquis  Riccardi,  Mr.  Clarke 
resorted ;  and  w^ith  the  assistance  of  the  very  learned 
Canonico  Bandini,  the  Grand  Duke's  librarian,  and  of 
the  Abbate  Fontani,  the  keeper  of  the  Riccardi  Library, 
he  gained  access  to  many  curious  and  valuable  manu- 
scripts relating  to  the  history  of  the  Medici.  These 
he  carefully  examined,  making  notes  of  such  portions  of 
them  as  appeared  most  likely  to  furnish  materials  for 
his  friend.  From  the  copious  and  excellent  catalogue, 
by  Bandini,  of  the  MSS.  preserved  in  the  Laurentian 
Library,  he  extracted  the  titles  of  such  as  contained  the 
desired  information.     "  I  wish,"  he  observes,  in  a  letter 

VOL.  1.  10 


dated  February  4,  1790,  ^'  you  had  an  opportunity  of 
examining  the  catalogue ;  because,  it  would  enable  you 
to  point  out  to  me  what  you  would  have  me  examine ; 
but,  as  I  foresee  that  this  is  not  likely  to  be  in  your 
power,  I  shall  go  on  in  the  method  I  have  begun, 
that  is,  of  taking  an  account  of  all  such  materials  as 
seem  to  be  connected  with  your  plan,  witli  accurate 
references,  as  you  desire ;  so  that  on  a  review  of  these 
materials,  ietc-d-ictc,  we  can  send  our  commissions  to 
this  city,  to  have  the  needful  transcriptions  made.  There 
will  be  no  difHculty  in  finding  amanuenses  here  for  that 
purpose."  Nor  did  Mr.  Clarke  confine  himself  to  an 
examination  of  the  manuscript  treasures  of  Florence. 
He  assiduously  sought  for  the  printed  works  of  the  au- 
thors who  have  illustrated  the  Medicean  age ;  and  when 
able  to  procure  copies  of  those  which  Mr.  Roscoe  did 
not  possess,  he  transmitted  them  to  Liverpool.  With 
the  view  of  making  himself  well  acquainted  with  the 
sul)ject,  he  twice  perused  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  by  Fa- 
broni,  with  an  especial  reference  to  the  authorities  of  that 
writer.  ^'  In  a  few  days,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  dated  in 
the  month  of  March,  1790,  "  I  remove  to  Florence,  to 
remain  there  from  fifteen  to  twenty  days,  totally  occupied 
with  your  hero,  who  has  won  my  warmest  veneration. 
I  have  gone  through  (twice)  Fabroni's  work.  ^lany  of 
his  authorities  will  be  useful  to  you.  The  life,  which 
is  composed  in  Latin,  with  laboured  attention  to  the 
style,  has  more  regard  to  the  })ublic  conduct  of  Lorenzo 
than  to  his  private  character ;  with,  however,  some 
animadversions  upon  his  patronage  of  learning  and  the 
arts.  Yours,  I  am  convinced,  will  be  a  more  entertaining 
work.  I  need  not  recommend  your  takinii  time  to  dif^est 
it  well.  As  I  now  know  the  principal  sources  that  may 
afford  materials,  before   1   leave   Florence   I  shall   take 


k 


such  a  general  view  of  them,  that  I  can  leave  or  send 
directions  to  have  what  is  most  within  the  compass  of 
your  plan  coj)ied  and  transmitted." 

With  the  valuahle  materials  thus  fortunately  supplied 
to  him,  Mr.  Roscoe  proceeded  with  double  ardour  to 
the  completion  of  his  laborious  yet  agreeable  task. 
Amongst  the  unpublished  pieces  transmitted  to  him 
from  Florence,  were  many  original  poems  of  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici,  of  whose  poetical  talents  Mr.  Roscoe  had 
already  formed  a  very  high  opinion.  A  small  collection 
of  these  inedited  pieces  he  sent  to  the  press  in  the  year 
1791  ;  and  a  limited  impression  of  only  twelve  copies 
was  printed,  to  be  distributed  amongst  his  literary  friends. 
The  volume  is  appropriately  inscribed  to  Mr.  Clarke,  in 
a  short  dedication  written  in  Italian,  from  which  we  may 
gather  that  no  inconsiderable  progress  was  already  made 
in  his  Life  of  Lorenzo.  "  Ben  sapete,"  he  says,  "  che 
il  Magnifico  Lorenzo  autore  di  essi,  vero  Mecenate, 
e  restauratore  delle  belle  lettere  nel  secolo  decimo  quinto, 
e  da  molto  tempo  1'  oggetto  di  mia  somma  reverenza,  ed 
ammirazione  ;  applicandomi  io  ad  investigar  le  partico- 
larita  della  sua  vita,  la  quale  spero  mettere  fra  poco 
sotto  gli  occhi  de'  miei  compatriotti,  forse  piu  estesa- 
mente,  che  non  hanno  fatto  il  Valori  ed  il  Fabroni." 
''  Godo,"  he  adds,  in  conclusion,  ''  che  nel  consecrare 
questo  leggier  tributo  alia  memoria  d'  un  uomo  degno  di 
perpetua  lode  e  venerazione,  mi  sia  presentata  occasione 
d'  unire  insieme  i  nostri  nomi  siccome  i  nostri  studj  ge- 
niali  ci  hanno  gia  da  molti  anni  — 

'  In  nodo  d'  amist^  congiunti,  e  stretti.'  " 

All  the  leisure  which  his  profession  allowed  him  was 
now  dedicated  to  the  Life  of  Lorenzo ;  and  in  the  au- 
tumn of  the  year  1793  he  committed  the  first  sheets  of 


his  work  to  the  press.  From  a  desire  of  encouraging 
the  talents  of  tliose  around  him,  he  was  led  to  intrust 
the  printing  of  this  work  to  Mr.  John  jM'Creery,  who, 
by  his  advice,  had  lately  established  a  press  in  Liver- 
pool. The  typographical  beauty  of  the  first  edition  of 
the  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  INIedici  sufliciently  attests  the 
skill  of  INIr.  iM'Creery  as  a  ])rinler  ;  but  it  was  not  merely 
the  professional  ability  of  this  gentleman  which  won  the 
regard  of  INIr.  Roscoe.  The  undeviating  rectitude  of  his 
mind,  and  the  warmth  and  devotedness  of  his  feelings, 
led  to  a  strict  friendship,  whicli  remained  unbroken  to 
the  termination  of  Mr.  Roscoe 's  life.*     In  the  spring  of 

*  JNIr.  M'Creery  did  not  long  survive  his  friend.  In  company 
with  Mrs.  M'Creery,  and  one  of  his  dauglilers,  he  visited  Paris  in 
the  autumn  m  1831,  and  was  residing  in  that  city  when  the  cholera 
made  its  appearance  there.  On  the  eve  of  departing  for  Switzer- 
land, lie  was  attacked  by  that  dreadful  disease,  and  fell  a  victim  to 
it  in  the  course  of  two  days. 

He  was  a  man  of  much  cultivation  of  mind,  and  possessed  con- 
siderable poetical  powers,  which  were  uniformly  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  truth,  of  freedom,  and  of  human  improvement.  In  his 
political  opinions  he  was  inflexibly  consistent,  and  had  won  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  many  persons  distinguished  in  public  life. 
Laborious,  exact,  and  skilful,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  him- 
self at  length  rendered  independent  by  the  practice  of  his  useful 
and  honourable  profession  ;  and  he  had  begun  joyfully  to  devote  to 
literature  the  leisure  he  had  earned. 

Of  his  ardent  and  unfailing  attachment  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  he  has 
left  a  public  memorial  in  tlie  dedication  of  the  two  parts  of  his 
Poem  of  "The  Press,"  published  in  1803  and  in  1828.  But  his 
friendship  Vvas  better  exhibited  in  tlie  never-tiring  zeal  with  which 
he  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  to  serve  his  friend,  in  the 
deep  sympathy  with  which  he  entered  into  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
his  life,  and  in  tlie  promptitude  with  which,  at  a  season  of  difficulty, 
he  endeavoured  to  procure  him  support  and  assistance.  How  sen- 
sible Mr.  Roscoe  was  of  his  friendship,  may  be  best  seen  from  the 
following  letter,  written  in  the  suunner  of  1820 :  — 

"  Mv    EVER    DEAR    FrIEND, 

''  I  have  long  wished  to  address  a  few  lines  of  acknowledg- 
ment to  you  for  your  constant  and  invariable  kindness  to  me  and 


1794,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  first  volume  of  the 
Life  was  printed,  and  the  sheets  were  transmitted  to 
Mr.  Edwards,  the  bookseller,  of  Pall  Mall,  with  whom 
Mr.  Roscoe  was  in  habits  of  correspondence.  By  him 
they  were  laid  before  the  Miss  Berrys,  whose  intimate 
acquaintance  with  Italian  literature  rendered  them  very 
competent  judges  of  the  work.  The  character  given  of 
it  by  them  to  the  late  Lord  Orford,  induced  that  noble- 
man to  apply  to  Mr.  Edwards  for  permission  to  peruse 
the  sheets ;  and  the  following  note,  which  was  imme- 
diately communicated  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  was  highly  grati- 
fying to  him,  as  proceeding  from  a  person  so  distinguished 
in  the  literary  world.* 


mine,  during  our  long  and  painful  state  of  suspense,  but  have  de- 
layed it  in  the  hope  of  seeing  our  concerns  in  a  fair  way  of  being 
satisfactorily  arranged.  That  expectation  is  not,  however,  yet  real- 
ised :  and  as  I  have  to  send  an  additional  poem  or  two  for  my 
daughter  Jane's  little  publication,  I  could  no  longer  resist  the  de- 
sire of  having  a  few  words  with  you,  and  of  assuring  you  that, 
though  silent,  I  have  not  been  insensible  of  that  friendship  which 
has  been  evinced  under  the  most  trying  circumstances ;  nor  of 
those  kind  and  constant  exertions  on  my  behalf,  which  adversity, 
and  the  train  of  evils  with  which  I  have  had  to  struggle,  have  only 
served  to  increase.  I  will  not,  however,  dwell  on  this  subject,  which 
I  well  know  is  unnecessary  between  us,  and  from  the  weight  of 
which  I  find  a  great  relief  in  the  perfect  consciousness  of  my  own 
mind,  that  the  affectionate  attachment  you  have  shown  me,  and 
which  has  surmounted  so  many  trials,  cannot  exceed  that  which  I 
trust  you  well  know  is  so  sincerely  felt  by  me  in  return." 

*  The  satisfaction  expressed  by  Mr.  Roscoe  at  the  judgment  of 
Lord  Orford  seems  to  have  excited  the  spleen  of  Fuseli.  "  I  under- 
stand," he  says  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  "  that  Lord  Orford,  the 
quondam  Horace  Walpole,  has  given  an  ample  suffrage  to  what  he 
saw  of  "  Lorenzo."  That  he  should  have  done  so  surprises  me  not, 
but  I  am  a  little  hurt  at  your  having  wished  for  it.  The  editor  of 
Vertue's  trash  should  not  have  had  much  consequence  in  your 
eyes,  though  I  shall  not  deny  that  there  are  disjecti  membra  poetcB 
in  the  "  Mysterious  Mother." 

10* 


"  Lord  Orford  feels  himself  sensiljly  oblii^ed  by  Mr. 
Edwards  allowlni;-  Miss  Berry  to  coninuinicate  to  him 
the  fratrment  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  JNIedici.  Lord 
O.  has  not  enjoyed  so  much  and  such  unexpected 
pleasure  for  a  long  time,  as  from  tliis  most  able,  inform- 
ing, and  entertaining  work,  whicli,  tliough  it  will  leave 
a  most  agreeable  impression  on  his  mind,  gives  him 
great  inquietude  too,  as  he  does  not  think  that  it  will 
appear  very  soon,  —  an  afflicting  circumstance  to  Lord  O., 
as  very  soon  may  be  of  great  consecpience  to  a  very  in- 
firm man  of  seventy-six,  who  has  no  hopes  of  being  so 
well  amused  as  he  should  be  by  reading  the  completion 
of  this  work,  for  the  sight  of  which  he  again  thanks 
Mr.  Edwards." 

The  feelings  with  which  Mr.  Roscoe  committed  his 
labours  to  the  press  may  be  gathered  from  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Lord  Lansdowne  :  — 

"  About  the  work  itself,  I  confess  I  am  less  anxious. 
After  having  employed  a  great  part  of  my  leisure  for 
some  years  past  upon  it,  1  feel  at  length  something  of 
the  sensation  described  by  Dr.  Johnson  on  publishing 
his  Dictionary,  and  may  say  with  him,  that  I  dismiss  it 
into  the  world  with  frigid  indifference.  The  truth  is,  it  is 
a  tale  of  other  times,  bearing  but  little  on  the  momentous 
occurrences  of  the  present  day,  and  therefore  not  likely 
to  be  nuich  applauded  or  abused  by  any  party.  I  have, 
on  all  occasions,  avoided  violent  and  extreme  opinions, 
and  perhaps  may  be  accused  by  some  of  having  taken 
some  pains  to  display  the  glossy  side  of  aristocracy. 
Possibly,  however,  this  may  compensate  for  a  certain 
degree  of  republican  spirit  which  others  will  discover 
tow-ards  tlie  close.  I  feel  also  some  confidence  from  the 
idea  that  tlie  subject  is  new  to  this  country,  and  that  the 
critics  will  not  be  yet  prepared  to  take  advantage  of  my 


errors.  The  affairs  of  Italy,  and  particularly  the  trans- 
actions of  the  Medici,  have  been  involved  in  endless 
confusion ;  and  the  only  work  which  I  have  ever  met 
with  (not  published  in  Italy),  which  gives  any  just  idea 
of  them,  is  that  of  Mr.  Tenhove. 

"  I  am  sensible  that  it  may  appear  a  strange  w^aste  of 
time  to  have  employed  so  many  hours  on  a  subject 
which  has  no  immediate  tendency  to  develope  or  influ- 
ence any  of  the  important  truths  that  are  now  unfolding ; 
but  I  have  at  times  consoled  myself  in  the  reflection, 
that  if  I  should  be  fortunate  enough  to  open  a  new  source 
of  rational  amusement,  my  time  would  not  have  been 
uselessly  employed ;  and  that  every  thing  wdiich  tends 
to  soften  down  the  irritation  of  political  opinions,  and 
introduce  from  past  experience  measures  of  moderation 
and  forbearance,  will  finally  tend  to  promote,  in  some 
degree,  the  general  good." 

The  Life  of  Lorenzo  was  at  length  published,  in  the 
month  of  February,  1796,  by  Mr.  Edwards,  of  Pall  Mall, 
whose  first  intimation  of  the  success  of  the  work  was 
conveyed  to  Mr.  Roscoe  in  the  following  letter :  — 

"  All  your  parcel  (50)  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  have 
gone  off  in  three  days,  and  we  are  most  cruelly  teazed 
for  more.  If  they  are  not  sent  off,  I  beg  they  may 
come  directly." 

On  the  following  day  he  again  wrote  to  urge  the 
despatch  of  more  copies. 

"  Every  body,"  he  says,  "  tells  me  your  second  ex- 
ceeds the  first,  though  that  gave  the  highest  satisfaction. 
It  is  a  subject  of  conversation  in  every  company  —  not 
to  be  able  to  speak  of  it,  or  to  say  they  are  to  have  it 
from  the  next  parcel,  is  to  be  void  of  all  taste  and  dis- 


cernment." 


The  work,  in  short,  had  become  the  fashion.  "  We 
are  most  uurorlunatcly  deprived/'  says  J\Ir.  Edwards,  in 
anotlier  letter,  -''  of  receiving  any  parcel  from  you  since 
the  fii'st  fifty.  I  have  sent  day  by  day  to  the  warehouse 
of  the  Duke  of  Bridge  water's  canal,  and  nothing  is 
found  there  for  me.  I  dare  say,  if  you  make  enquiry, 
you  will  find  them  lying  in  your  warehouse  at  Liver- 
pool. 

*'  After  such  a  train  as  your  book  was  in,  nothing 
could  be  more  mortifying.  For  I  know  the  ill  effect  it 
will  have  on  our  people  of  fashion.  If  they  have  not 
things  at  first,  when  they  are  talked  of,  they  save  their 
guineas,  and  by  affecting  to  speak  of  what  they  are 
strangers  to,  give  a  very  indifferent  impression  to  their 
companions,  who  buy  by  hearsay.  This,  you  will  say, 
is  nothing  to  you,  who  seek  the  applause  of  the  learned 
few. 

"  One,  however,  is  corroborated  by  the  other,  and  the 
mass  of  approbation,  with  its  various  concomitant  con- 
veniences, is  the  desirable  reward  of  merit. 

*'  Notwithstanding  your  other  business,  remember  I 
am  fretting  and  harassed  continually  from  the  disappoint- 
ment of  being  without  a  copy  of  your  book." 

The  avidity  with  which  the  work  was  sought  for  ap- 
pears likewise  by  the  following  note  from  IMr.  Faulder, 
a  respectable  bookseller  in  New  Bond  Street. 

''  I  urn  so  distressed  for  your  '  History  of  the  Medici 
Family,'  that  I  am  under  the  necessity  of  requesting 
tliat  you  will  send  me  two  or  three  copies  by  the  very 
first  coach,  and  the  money  shall  be  paid  innnediately 
to  your  order.  Since  I  have  been  in  business,  I  have 
not  given  so  nmch  olfence,  as  by  not  being  able  to  serve 
my  friends  with  your  work." 


The  first  edition  of  "  Lorenzo  "  was  published  on  Mr. 
Roscoe's  own  account ;  but  soon  after  its  appearance,  he 
received  a  hberal  offer  (1200/.)  for  the  copyright,  from 
Messrs.  Cadell  and  Davies,  of  the  Strand,  which  he 
immediately  accepted.  A  second  edition  was  speedily 
put  to  press  by  these  gentlemen,  which  was  followed  by 
a  third  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1799. 

On  the  completion  of  the  second  volume  of  the  Life, 
it  had  been  immediately  transmitted  by  its  author  to 
Lord  Orford,  who  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  it  in  the 
following  letter  :  — ■ 

"  Two  days  ago,  sir,  good  Mr.  Edwards  brought  me 
your  eagerly  expected,  and  most  welcome,  second  vol- 
ume. I  must  thank  you  for  it  immediately,  though  inca- 
pable of  writing  with  my  own  hand.  I  have  been 
extremely  ill  witli  the  gout  for  above  eleven  weeks,  and 
ten  days  ago  was  at  the  point  of  death  with  an  inflam- 
mation in  my  bowels,  but  have  happily  lived  to  see  the 
continuation  of  your  work,  of  which  I  have  already  gone 
through  two  chapters,  and  find  them  fully  equal  to  their 
predecessors.  Indeed  as  I  cannot  express,  in  words  of 
my  own,  my  sentiments  both  of  your  work  and  of  you, 
I  shall  beg  your  leave  to  transcribe  the  character  of 
another  person,  which  so  exactly  suits  my  thoughts  of 
you,  that  I  should  very  awkwardly  attempt  to  draw 
another  portrait,  which  I  am  sure  w^ould  not  be  so  like. 

"  '  Although  these  volumes  appear  to  be  rather  the 
amusement  of  the  leisure  hours  of  a  polite  scholar,  than 
the  researches  of  a  professed  historian,  yet  they  display  an 
acquaintance  with  the  transactions  of  Italy,  seldom  ac- 
quired except  by  a  native.  To  a  great  proficiency  in 
the  literature  of  that  country,  Mr.  Tenhove  united  an 
indisputable  taste  in  the  productions  of  all  the  fine  arts, 
and  a  general  knowledge  of  the  state  of  manners,  and  the 


progress  of  science,  in  every  period  of  society.  The 
fertility  of  his  genius,  and  the  extent  of  his  information, 
have  enabled  hmi  to  intersperse  his  narrative  with  a 
variety  of  interesting  digressions  and  brilhant  observa- 
tions ;  and  tlie  most  engaging  work  that  has,  perhaps, 
ever  appeared  on  a  sul)ject  of  Htcrary  history,  is  written 
by  a  native  of  one  country,  in  the  language  of  another, 
on  the  affairs  of  a  tliird.' 

"  INotliing,  sir,  but  your  own  extreme  modesty,  and  im- 
partial justice,  would  have  blinded  you  so  fur  as  to  have 
prevented  you  discovering  that  this  must  be  a  more 
faithful  picture  of  yourself  than  it  can  be  of  Mr.  Ten- 
hove's  imperfect  performance,  omitting  the  language  of  a 
third, 

"  In  my  own  copy  of  your  work,  I  sliall  certainly 
insert  the  quotation  in  lieu  of  Testimonia  Auciorum, 

*'  Give  me  leave  to  thank  you  (for  your  own  sake  too) 
for  your  improvement  of  the  two  lines  beginning  with 
imagined  evils:  you  have  completely  satisfied  me,  sir; 
and  since  I  find  that  you  can  correct  as  masterly  as 
compose,  I  believe,  that,  with  all  my  admiration  and 
respect,  I  shall  be  impertinent  enough  to  point  out  any 
new  faults,  if  I  can  discover  them,  in  your  second 
volume. 

"  I  hope,  by  this  sincere  sketch  of  my  sentiments,  I 
have  so  entirely  convinced  you  of  them  that  I  can  have 
no  occasion  to  profess  again  how  much 

"  I  am,  Sir, 

"  Your   most  obliged,  and  most    delighted,  and  most 
obedient,  humble  Servant, 

"  Orford." 

Tliat  Lord  Orford,  in  the  commendations  thus  freely 
bestowed,  did  not  intend  merely  to  flatter  the  vanity  of 


\ 


JL«>    \^     KJ     Ky     ^-f     J-i 


the  author,  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  letter 
addressed  by  the  Rev.  Mark  Noble  to  Mr.  Roscoe ; 
from  which  it  appears  that  his  Lordship  expressed  his 
approbation  to  others  in  language  almost  equally  strong:  — 

"  Though  an  entire  stranger  to  you,  I  have  ventured 
to  transcribe  part  of  a  letter,  which  I  have  just  received 
from  Lord  Orford,  in  answer  to  one  I  wTote  when  I 
presented  his  Lordship  with  a  copy  of  my  Memoirs  of 
the  Medici  Family.  Such  praise  from  so  great  a  judge 
must,  I  am  certain,  be  highly  gratifying. 

''  Had  I  not  been  in  the  habit  of  keeping  my  letters, 
and  this  which  I  have  received  related  to  various  other 
circumstances,  I  believe  I  should  have  sent  you  the 
original.  I  am  extremely  mortified  that  the  distance 
precludes  me  waiting  upon  you,  a  small  one  would  not. 
I  should  have  been  happy  in  your  acquaintance,  still 
more  so  in  your  friendship ;  but  I  am  keeping  you  too 
long  from  the  praises  you  so  justly  merit. 

"  Extract  of  Lord  Orford's  letter  to  me,  dated  from 
Berkeley  Square,  Jan.  12th,  1797:  — 

"  '  I  have  received.  Sir,  your  "History  of  the  Medici," 
and  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  it ;  it  is  well,  and  judici- 
ously, and  impartially  written,  and  a  satisfactory  supple- 
ment to  Mr.  Roscoe's  Lorenzo,  who,  I  think,  is  by  far 
tlie  best  of  our  historians,  both  for  beauty  and  style,  and 
for  deep  reflections  ;  and  his  translations  of  poetry  are 
equal  to  the  originals.' " 

Another  nobleman,  distinguished  by  his  attachment  to 
the  arts,  as  much  as  by  the  singularity  of  his  character, 
expressed  in  lively  terms  his  approbation  of  Mr.  Roscoe's 
labours.  The  Earl  of  Bristol,  then  resident  at  Rome, 
addressed  to  Mr.  Cadell,  the  pubhsher  of  the  "  Life  of 
Lorenzo,"  the  following  note,  in  the  month  of  January, 
1797  :  — 


I'^O  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

J 

"  Lord  Bristol's  compliments  to  jNIr.  Cadell,  and  begs  ! 
to  know  the  place  of  residence  of  jVIr.  Roscoc,  the  [ 
ingenious,  learned,  and  elegant  author  oi  the  '  Life  of  ; 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici '  —  what  is  his  profession  —  what  I 
his  resources  in  life  —  what  his  connection  —  and  what  ■ 
present  of  books,  pictures,  or  statues  might  be  most  wel-  \ 
come  to  him  ?  "  j 

In  answer  to  this  generous  and  unlocked  for  proposal,  ! 
]\Ir.  Roscoe  addressed  to  Mr.  Cadell  the  following  ! 
letter  :  —  '! 

"  The  note  from  the  Earl  of  Bristol,  which  you  have  i 
been  so  kind  as  to  send  me  to-day,  does  me  the  greatest  \ 
honour,  and  demands  my  warmest  acknowledgments. 

"  I  am  happy  in  the  present  opportunity,  by  your  ' 
means,  of  conveying  to  his  Lordship  my  most  grateful  | 
thanks  for  the  generous  intentions  he  has  expressed  j 
towards  me,  and  of  assuring  his  Lordship  with  the  deep-  : 
est  sense  of  his  goodness,  that  as  I  had  no  motive  in  j 
publishing  my  work  but  a  sincere  desire  of  promoting  the  i 
cause  of  letters,  and  of  doing  justice  to  a  great  and  | 
neglected  character,  so  the  approbation  of  such  an  ac- 
knowledged judge  in  works  of  taste  and  literature,  as  the 
Earl  of  Bristol,  is  the  highest  compensation  which  I  can 
possibly  receive." 

A  few  months  afterwards.  Lord  Bristol  addressed  to 
Mr.  Roscoe  a  letter  expressing  in  the  warmest  terms  his 
admiration  of  the  ''  Life  of  Lorenzo." 

"  It  is  impossible  to  read  your  elegant  and  most  inter- 
esting history  of  that  ornament  of  human  nature,  Lorenzo 
de'  IMedicis,  and  not  feel  at  the  same  time  a  kind  of 
triumphant  enthusiasm  that  we  possess  a  contemporary 
writer  of  such  superior  talents  and  such  indefatigable 
industry,  with  a  choice  of  the  most  interesting,  instructive, 
animating  subjects  that  can  improve  his  countrymen  and 
lionour  himself. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  121 

"  Your  documents  are  as  new  as  they  are  authentic, 
and  as  interesting  from  the  subjects  as  from  the  writer ; 
and  I  have  only  to  lament,  that,  being  doomed,  from  a 
very  frail  state  of  health,  to  drag  many  years  in  a  southern 
climate,  I  have  not  been  the  fortunate  person  to  furnish 
so  splendid  and  so  useful  an  historian  with  those  precious 
documents  of  which  he  has  made  so  masterly  an  use. 

"  In  the  mean  time  I  venture  to  exhort  you,  '  Perge 
ut  incepisti,'  and  take  for  your  next  theme  a  subject  still 
more  extensive,  still  more  exalted,  and,  of  course,  still 
more  worthy  of  your  very  eminent  abilities.  'Tis  the 
sequel  of  Lorenzo  that  I  propose  to  you,  in  the  life  of 
his  son,  Leo  X.  You  see  at  once,  Sir,  what  a  glorious, 
interesting,  animating  era  it  embraces ;  and  who  so  fit  to 
paint  the  manhood  of  arts,  of  science,  of  religious  refor- 
mation, as  that  happy  and  elegant  WTiter  who  has  so 
satisfactorily  sketched  and  delineated  their  infancy  ? 

"  If,  during  my  abode  at  Rome,  I  can  in  any  way 
serve  you  by  my  connection  with  the  Vatican  Librarian, 
you  may  command  me." 

In  another  letter,  written  soon  after  the  foregoing. 
Lord  Bristol  urged  Mr.  Roscoe  to  visit  Italy,  offering 
him,  at  the  same  time,  the  use  of  his  apartments  at 
Rome,  or  at  Naples.  This  invitation  opened  a  tempting 
prospect  to  Mr.  Roscoe  ;  but  his  situation  compelled  him 
to  decline  so  gratifying  an  excursion. 

"  It  will  not  seem  strange  to  your  Lordship,"  he  says, 
in  answer,  ^'  that  I  should  feel  some  desire  to  visit  a 
portion  of  the  earth  which  has  been  so  frequently  present 
to  my  imagination,  or  that  this  desire  should  be  increased 
by  the  accommodation  so  generously  proposed  to  me  by 
your  Lordship.  But,  however  forcible  these  inducements 
may  be,  there  are  others  which  are  still  more  powerful, 
and   which   prohibit   me  from   indulging  even  a  distant 

VOL.    I.  11 


122  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

expectation  of  such  an  excursion.  With  the  claims  of  a 
wife  and  eight  children  on  my  attention,  I  should  feel 
little  gratification  in  any  pleasures  which  required  a  long 
absence  from  home,  whilst  the  improvement  of  an  exten- 
sive tract  of  waste  moss  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Manches- 
ter calls  for  my  constant  superintendence.  To  say  the 
truth,  too,  the  striking  picture  your  Lordship  has  given  of 
the  irreat  seat  of  arms  in  ancient,  and  of  arts  in  modem 
times,  might  almost  shake  the  resolution  of  any  one  who 
was  not  determined,  like  Orpheus  of  old,  to  drag  the 
object  of  his  adoration  from  the  jaws  of  hell  itself. 
Under  these  united  impressions,  I  must  relinquish  all  idea 
of  availing  myself  of  your  Lordship's  goodness,  assuring 
you,  however,  that  I  shall  always  hold  it  in  the  most 
grateful  remembrance." 

The  sheets  of  the  "  Life  of  Lorenzo  "  were  also  com- 
municated to  the  late  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  and  by 
him  to  Sir  Samuel  Romilly  and  M.  Dumont.  "  I  have 
had,"  says  that  nobleman,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Roscoe, 
"  a  gouty  attack  upon  my  stomach,  which,  though  it  has 
not  confined  me,  has  indisposed  me  to  the  least  exertion, 
and  made  it  a  grievance  to  me  so  much  as  to  take  up  a 
pen.  But  it  did  not  prevent  me  a  moment  from  reading 
the  sheets  which  Edwards  sent  me.  I  assure  you  that  I 
was  quite  delighted  with  them,  and  so  were  two  much 
better  judges,  to  whom  I  took  the  liberty  of  showing 
them.  One  is  a  counsel,  Mr.  Romilly,  a  particular  friend 
of  mine,  who  1  wish  was  acquainted  with  you,  and  you 
with  him  ;  the  otlicr  is  i\L  Dumont,  a  Swiss,  whom  you 
may  read  of  in  the  papers  as  having  been  a  secretary  of 
Mirabeau,  and  a  political  agent  of  mine." 

Lord  Lansdowne  also,  with  that  friendly  partiality 
whicli  distiniruished  his  intercourse  with  Mr.  Roscoe, 
took  an  opportunity  of  publicly  eulogising  the  "  Life  of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  123 

Lorenzo."  ''  As  there  is  no  person,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe, 
in  a  letter  to  his  Lordship,  "  whose  opinion  I  looked  up 
to  with  so  much  anxiety  as  your  Lorship's,  so  the  appro- 
bation you  have  been  pleased  to  express  of  my  book  has 
given  me  the  sincerest  satisfaction,  which  is  increased  by 
the  distinguished  honour  it  received  fi-om  your  adverting 
to  it  in  so  favourable  a  manner  in  the  House  of  Lords." 

On  the  publication  of  the  work  Lord  Lansdowne  ex- 
pressed his  approbation  of  it  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

"  Assured  on  all  hands  of  the  success  of  '  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici,'  which  has  been  far  beyond  any  book  I 
remember  (and  Mr.  Hume's  publication  of  his  first 
volumes  is  within  my  memory),  we  determined  to 
reserve  it  till  we  went  to  Wycombe,  and  could  have  the 
full  enjoyment  of  it  free  from  intermption  ;  and  I  can 
venture  to  assure  you  that  great  as  our  prejudice  was  in 
its  favour,  it  exceeded  our  expectation.  Miss  Fox  has 
begun  to  translate  the  prose  pieces  in  the  Appendix,  and 
I  am  determined  to  learn  Italian  without  delay.  Li  the 
mean  time  we  are  all  suitors  to  you,  to  put  us  into  a 
course  of  Italian  reading,  but  I  am  sorry  that  we  must, 
for  the  present  confine  ourselves  to  translations.  I  do 
not  know  what  the  reason  is,  but  Guicciardini  is  the  only 
book  of  reputation  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  get 
through  with  pleasure." 

From  various  other  quarters  Mr.  Roscoe  received  the 
most  gratifying  expressions  of  approbation.  "  Permit 
me,"  says  Dr.  Aikin,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  him  in 
May,  1796,  "  to  return  you  my  share  of  thanks  for  the 
pleasure  you  have  communicated  to  the  public  by  your 
admirable  '  History  of  Lorenzo.'  I  have  heard  but  one 
opinion  of  it,  that  it  is  the  most  elegant  and  interesting 
publication  of  the  literary  kind  that  has  appeared  in  our 
language  for  many  years ;  and  sincerely  am  I  rejoiced, 


124  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     KOSCOE. 

that  a  merit  whicli  lias  been  so  lono;  conspicuous  in  the 
circle  of  your  friends,  is  now  fairly  displayed  and  made 
manifest  to  the  world  at  large." 

Amongst  these  numerous  and  gratifying  testimonies  to 
the  merits  of  the  ''  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,"  the 
most  singular  and  unlooked  for  was  that  given  by  the 
author  of  "  The  Pursuits  of  Literature."  The  political 
sentiments  which  distinguished  that  celebrated  work,  and 
the  severity  with  which  every  writer  of  liberal,  or,  as 
they  were  then  termed,  of  Jacobinical  })rinciples,  was 
treated  in  its  pages,  seemed  to  render  it  very  improbable 
that  the  writings  of  IVIr.  Roscoe  would  meet  with  a 
more  favourable  consideration.  But  the  attachment  of 
the  author  to  Italian  literature,  and  his  gratitude  for  the 
contributions  made  to  it  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  overcame  even 
the  violence  of  party  feeling,  and  drew  from  lym  the 
following  eulogistic  notice  :  — 

"  But  hark  !  what  solemn  strains  from  Arno's  vales 
Brcatlic  raptures  wafted  on  the  Tuscan  gales ! 
Lorenzo  rears  ajjain  his  aAvful  head. 
And  feels  his  ancient  glories  roimd  liim  spread ; 
Tlie  Muses  starting  from  their  trance  revive, 
And  at  their  Roscoe's  bidding  Avake  and  live." 

To  these  lines  the  following  note  was  appended :  — 
"  See  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  called  the  Mao-- 
nificent,  by  William  Roscoe.'  I  cannot  but  congratulate 
the  |)ublir  upon  this  great  and  important  addition  to  class- 
ical histor)  ,  which  I  regard  as  a  phenomenon  in  literature, 
in  every  point  of  view. 

"  It  is  pleasant  to  consider  a  gentleman  not  under  the 
auspices  of  an  uni\ersity,  nor  beneath  the  shade  of 
academic  bowers,  but  in  the  jiractice  of  the  law,  and 
business  of  great  extent,  and  resident  in  the  remote  com- 
mercial town  of  Liverpool   (where   nothing  is  heard  of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  125 

but  Guinea  ships,  slaves,  blacks,  and  merchandise),  in- 
vestigating and  describing  the  rise  and  progress  of  every 
polite  art  in  Italy,  at  the  revival  of  learning,  with  acute- 
ness,  depth,  and  precision,  with  the  spirit  of  the  poet 
and  the  solidity  of  the  historian. 

^'  For  my  own  part  I  have  not  terms  sufficient  to 
express  my  admiration  of  his  genius  and  erudition,  or  my 
gratitude  for  the  amusement  and  information  I  have  re- 
ceived. I  may  add  that  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Roscoe 
procured  from  the  libraries  at  Florence  many  of  the 
various  inedited  manuscripts  with  which  he  has  enrfched 
the  appendix  to  his  history,  was  singularly  curious ;  not 
from  a  fellow  or  traveller  of  the  dilettanti,  but  from  a 
commercial  man  in  the  intervals  of  his  employment. 

^'  I  shall  not  violate  the  dignity  of  the  work  by  slight 
objections  to  some  modes  of  expression,  or  even  to  a 
few  words,  or  to  some  occasional  sentiments  in  the  his- 
torian of  a  republic.  But  I  recommend  it  to  our  country 
as  a  w^ork  of  unquestionable  genius  and  of  uncommon 
merit.  It  adds  the  name  of  Roscoe  to  the  very  first  rank 
of  English  classical  historians." 

To  the  honour  of  this  highly  flattering  notice  Mr. 
Roscoe  could  not  be  insensible,  proceeding  as  it  did  from 
a  person  eminently  skilled  in  the  same  studies  in  which 
he  himself  delighted.  He  therefore  thought  it  proper 
to  express,  to  the  unknown  author  of  the  poem,*  the 

*  Much  discussion  has  taken  place  with  regard  to  the  author  of 
the  "  Pursuits  of  Literature,"  who,  like  "  Junius,"  still  remains  in- 
volved in  obscurity. 

The  following  passage  from  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Riddell,  dated 
20th  September,  1800,  may  serve  to  amuse  those  who  are  curious  on 
the  subject :  — 

"  Do  your  absent  friends  the  justice  to  believe  that  they  can 
think  of  you,  and  admire  you,  at  a  distance  ;  those  who  know  you 
personally  and  those  who  know  you  by  your  works  alone.     Ther« 

11* 


126  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

gratification  he  had  experienced  at  the  manner  in  which 
his  literary  labours  had  been  treated.  At  the  same  time, 
as  a  letter  of  thanks  and  compliments  only  might  seem 
to  convey  a  more  general  approval  of  the  principles 
promulgated  in  the  poem,  than  in  tmth  Mr.  Roscoe  felt, 
he  undertook  the  difficult  task  of  limiting  the  approba- 
tion which  he  expressed.  He  likewise  availed  himself 
of  the  ojiportunity  to  correct  some  eiTors  with  regard  to 
himself,  into  which  the  author  of  "  The  Pursuits  of  Lite- 
rature" had  fallen. 

*'  JVIr.  Roscoe  takes  the  liberty  of  presenting  his  sin- 
cere acknowledgments  to  the  author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of 
Literature,'  for  the  great  pleasure  and  information  he  has 
derived  from  his  very  original,  learned,  and  entertaining 
work  ;  and  is  happy,  at  the  same  time,  in  an  opportunity 
of  expressing  his  grateful  sense  of  the  honour  done  him, 

is  one  of  the  latter  description  in  my  neighbourhood  just  now  that 
must  be  namrless,  whose  tribute  of  respect  has  been  already  paid  in 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  productions  that  has  been  given  to 
the  world  for  a  long  while  (I  need  not  mention  the  '  Pursuits  of 
Literature').  I  know  you  were  not  insensible  to  it.  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  passing  three  or  four  months  in  the  almost  uninter- 
rupted society  of  the  very  accomplished  writer  and  scholar  at  whose 
feet  the  reputation  of  this  work  is  generally  laid,  and  with  whom 
the  envy  and  malevolence,  as  well  as  the  admiration,  now  rest. 
1  have  had  more  questions  asked  me  about  you  tlian  I  was  well 
able  to  answer,  from  that  quarter,  but  I  could  report  nothing  that  did 
not  seem  to  confirm  the  opinion  conveyed  in  his  very  elegant  appli- 
cation of  a  line  from  Vida :  — 

"  '  Huic  Musaj  indulgent  omnes,  hunc  pascit  Apollo.' 

"  I  must  add  one  piece  of  information  that  will  make  you  smile. 
•  The  vine-covered  Jiills  and  gay  valleys  of  France,'  and  its  sister, 
'  Unfold,  Father  Time,'  I  ventured  to  show  to  tiio  severe  censor 
above  alluded  to,  a  day  or  two  ago,  wlu)  not  only  passes  with  un- 
wonted toleration  over  '  a  few  occasional  sentimenls  of  that  tendency 
in  the  historian  of  a  rej)ublic,'  but  condescends  to  read  these  with 
delight,  making  every  decent  allowance  for  the  poetical  privilege." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     BOSCOE.  127 

in  the  very  favourable  notice  taken  in  that  poem  of  the 
*  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici;'  and  which  is  the  more 
estimable,  inasmuch  as  the  author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of 
Literature'  has  so  fully  evinced,  to  every  unprejudiced 
reader,  his  own  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  various 
subjects  which  Mr.  Roscoe  has  there  had  occasion  to 
discuss. 

"  As  Mr.  Roscoe  has  just  observed  that  a  new  and 
complete  edition  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature,'  with 
corrections  and  improvements,  is  now  in  the  press,  he 
thinks  it  incumbent  on  him  to  point  out  some  inaccu- 
racies respecting  himself,  which  would  have  been  of  no 
moment,  had  not  the  author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Lite- 
rature' placed  him  before  the  public  in  so  favourable  a 
light.  After  having  mentioned  these  particulars,  he 
submits  it  to  the  author's  judgment,  whether  they  are 
sufficiently  important  to  merit  correction  in  the  edition 
now  proposed. 

''  In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Roscoe  begs  leave  to  assure 
the  author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature '  that  he  is  not 
the  author  of  the  letter  published  under  the  name  of 
'  Jasper  Wilson,'  nor  had  any  connection  whatever  with 
the  wTiting  or  publication  of  that  work.  At  the  same 
time,  he  wishes  it  to  be  understood,  that  he  makes  this 
avowal  only  for  the  sake  of  truth,  and  not  from  the 
apprehension  of  any  imputation  which  might  arise  from 
his  being  considered  as  the  author  of  that  performance, 
which  he  conceives  to  be  not  only  strictly  constitutional, 
but  as  deserving,  in  a  high  degree,  the  serious  attention 
of  every  real  friend  to  his  country. 

"  Mr.  Roscoe  also  begs  leave  to  notice  another  inac- 
curacy in  the  third  part  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature ; ' 
viz.  that  the  materials  for  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici'  were  collected  abroad  by  a  commercial  man  in 


128  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

the  intervals  of  his  employment.  If  this,  indeed,  were 
the  fact,  Mr.  Roscoe  would  think,  with  the  author  of  the 
'  Pursuits  of  Literature,'  that  it  would  by  no  means  de- 
tract either  from  his  book  or  himself,  but  this  not  being 
the  case,  ]Mr.  Roscoe  thinks  it  incumbent  on  him  to 
notice  it.  The  truth  is,  that  Mr.  Clarke,  the  gentleman 
referred  to,  (and  who,  to  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
most  of  the  European  tongues,  unites  a  thorough  know- 
ledge of  the  ancient  languages,)  was  absent  from  home 
for  upwards  of  seven  years,  in  Italy,  and  other  parts  of 
the  Continent ;  first,  on  account  of  his  health,  and  after- 
wards for  the  same  object  that  forms  the  title  of  the 
excellent  poem  before  referred  to,  without  any  other 
business  whatever.  Mr.  Roscoe  observed,  soon  after  the 
publication  of  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo,'  a  paragraph  in  one 
of  the  public  papers,  stating,  that  the  book  was  written 
by  a  Liverpool  merchant,  with  materials  collected  by  an 
outrider,  or  to  that  effect.  He  did  not  think  it  worth 
his  while  to  contradict  the  report  of  the  day,  though  it 
was  erroneous  both  as  to  him  and  his  friend :  but  the 
'  Pursuits  of  Literature '  will  reach  posterity ;  and,  as 
Mr.  Roscoe  now  hopes,  through  the  partiality  of  the 
author,  to  *  pursue  the  triumph  and  partake  the  gale,'  he 
is  unwilling,  so  far  as  depends  on  himself,  to  give  pei^ 
manency  to  error. 

"  Mr.  Roscoe  would  not  think  that  he  acted  on  this 
occasion  with  that  candour,  which  he  hopes  it  will  al- 
ways be  his  endeavour  to  maintain,  did  he  not,  in  ex- 
pressing his  admiration  of  the  "  Pursuits  of  Literature,' 
avow  a  difTcrence  of  opinion  with  respect  to  some  of  the 
political  subjects  there  discussed  ;  consequently,  with 
respect  to  the  strictures  on  some  distinguished  characters, 
whose  merits  seem  to  have  been  measured  by  a  political 
rather  than    by  a  literary  standard.     '  Politics,'  as  the 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  129 

author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature '  observes,  ^  are 
temporary,  but  wit  is  eternal ; '  but  if  these  be  the 
perishable  parts  of  his  work,  they  are  the  only  parts 
that  will  perish.  It  would,  however,  be  unpardonable 
in  Mr.  Roscoe  to  object  to  that  freedom  of  opinion 
which  the  author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature '  has  in 
so  handsome  a  manner  conceded  to  himself;  nor  does 
he  conceive  that  the  difference,  to  which  he  has  ven- 
tured to  allude,  is  a  difference  in  principles.  The  sound 
learning,  and  extensive  acquaintance,  of  the  author  of 
the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature,'  both  with  modem  and 
ancient  history,  are  an  ample  pledge  that  he  could  not 
for  a  moment  entertain  sentiments  adverse  to  the 
rational  liberty,  improvement,  and  happiness  of  man- 
kind ;  even  if  this  were  not  sufficiently  evinced,  as  it 
certainly  is,  by  numerous  passages  in  his  work.  Of 
the  best  mode  of  obtaining  these  advantages,  thinking 
men  may  be  allowed  to  doubt,  and  good  men  may 
chance  to  differ  —  happy,  indeed,  if  they  would  recol- 
lect, that,  of  all  the  calamities  that  can  befall  a  nation, 
a  spirit  of  mutual  jealousy  and  vindictive  resentment  is 
the  worst.  Mr.  Roscoe  respectfully  takes  his  leave  of 
the  author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature,'  with  assuring 
him,  in  his  own  emphatic  words,  expressed  in  his  last 
note,  '  That  the  most  ardent  wish  of  his  heart  is  a 
secure  peace  after  a  war  for  ever  to  be  deplored,  bloody, 
fatal,  and  expensive,  beyond  example.'  And  though 
Mr.  Roscoe  cannot  join  in  the  opinion  that  this  war  was 
inevitable,  he  hopes,  that  his  wishes  for  the  termination 
of  it,  and  for  the  future  union,  tranquillity,  and  prosperity 
of  this  country,  will  not  on  that  account  be  considered 
as  less  sincere." 

To  this  communication  the  author  of  the  "  Pursuits  of 
Literature"  sent  the  following  answer,  written  in  that 


130  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

feio:ned  liand  which  he  made  the  medium  of  his  com- 
munications. 

^'  Tlie  Author  of  the  '  Pursuits  of  Literature '  presents 
his  compHments  to  INIr.  Roscoe,  and  returns  hini  many 
thanks  for  the  flivour  of  his  obhijino:  letter.  He  re- 
quests  INIr.  Roscoe's  acceptance  of  the  new  edition  of 
his  poem,  with  many  corrections  and  additions.  He 
hopes  it  will  be  found  not  unworthy  of  another  jierusal. 

"  The  introductory  letter  is  entirely  new.  The  author 
of  the  *  Pursuits  of  Literature'  only  observed,  that  Mr. 
Roscoe  was  presented  by  Mr.  Clarke  with  some  of  the 
poems  in  the  Appendix,  not  in  his  '  History  of  Lo- 
renzo.' 

*'  The  author  continues  the  same  high  opinion  of 
JNIr.  Roscoe's  work.  In  political  matters  he  differs  a 
little. 

"  The  hint  about  Jasper  Wilson's  letter  was  reprinted 
before  Mr.  Roscoe's  note  was  received.  If  there  should 
be  any  other  editions,  it  shall  be  attended  to.  The 
author  of  the  '  P.  of  L.'  wishes  Mr.  Roscoe  health, 
happiness,  and  the  enjoyment  of  his  well-earned  and 
well-deserved  literary  honours ;  but  fears  he  never  may 
have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him.  The  author  will 
be  happy  to  know  if  the  parcel  is  received  by  Mr.  Ros- 


coe." 


It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  insert  in  this 
place  the  various  gratifying  criticisms  which  Mr.  Roscoe 
received  from  his  literary  correspondents.  A  few  ex- 
tracts from  the  letters  of  persons  of  taste  and  learning 
may,  however,  be  considered  as  properly  admissible. 
The  following  passage  is  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr. 
Roscoe  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker,  the  author  of  the  "  His- 
tory of  Italian  Tragedy  : "  —  "  Allow  me,  Sir,  to  embrace 
this  opportunity  of  offering  you  my  warmest  thanks  for 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  131 

the  pleasure  and  interesting  information  which  I  derived 
from  the  perusal  of  your  Life  of  '  Lorenzo  de'  Medici.' 
It  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  biography 
in  the  English,  or  perhaps  in  any  other  language.  It 
is  also  a  clear,  elegant,  and  highly  satisfactory  account 
of  the  rise  of  literature  and  the  helh  arti  in  modem 
Italy.  A  hermit  among  the  mountains  of  Wicklow, 
literary  intelligence  and  new  publications  are  slow  in 
reaching  me :  however,  soon  after  the  appearance  of 
your  work,  my  friend  Mr.  Hayley  recommended  it  to  me 
as  a  performance  of  singular  merit  in  every  point  of  view, 
and  I  then,  as  you  may  suppose,  lost  no  time  in  ob- 
taining a  copy." 

Fuseli,  whose  erudition  and  knowledge  of  art  made 
him  a  very  competent  judge  of  many  parts  of  the  work, 
thus  mentions  it :  — ■ 

"  So  much  had  I  written  when  your  dear  epistle  from 
Buxton  found  me  ;  a  balm  to  my  wounded  and  over- 
balanced mind  :  '  Ecce  iterum  Crispinus  ! '  But  let  me, 
if  possible,  forget  my  cursed  self  for  one  moment,  and 
thank  you  for  the  genuine  pleasure  your  book  has  given 
me.  I  value  it  not,  you  know,  because  its  publication 
has  been  eminently  successful,  but  because  it  deserves 
that  success,  and  more ;  and  does  to  you,  and  to  my 
friendship  for  you,  infinite  honour.  I  am  perhaps  not 
so  great  a  friend  to  Lorenzo  as  you ;  perhaps  I  may 
think  on  some  other  points,  more  closely  connected  with 
my  pursuits,  somewhat  differently  from  you ;  but,  take 
the  whole  together,  there  is  no  writer  with  whom,  on  all 
the  various  topics  he  treats,  I  coincide  more  heartily 
than  with  you.  The  style  is,  in  my  eyes,  original, 
ample  without  being  loquacious,  pointed  without  being 
epigrammatic,  and  sententious  without  affectation. 


13:2  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

"  As  it  is  likely  I  shall  ininicdiately  review  it  (you 
know  for  whom),  I  reserve  finding  fault  with  you  for  that 
lucubration. 

'-  The  head  of  Lorenzo  prefixed  is  admirable ;  you 
could  never  have  got  so  good  a  thing  here ;  but  I  am 
very  much  mistaken  if,  by  invigorating  a  few  traits,  it 
would  not  make  an  excellent  head  of  Richard  III." 

But  it  was  from  Dr.  Parr  that  Mr.  lloscoe  received 
one  of  the  most  gratifying,  and  certainly  the  most  valu- 
able, communications  on  the  subject  of  his  new  work. 
That  learned  and  accomplished  scholar  had  no  sooner 
possessed  himself  of  the  volumes,  than  he  applied  him- 
self to  the  critical  perusal  of  them,  with  a  degree  of 
industry  and  accuracy  w^hich  few  persons  would  have 
been  capable  of  bestowing.  The  result  of  his  labours, 
comprised  in  many  folio  sheets  of  paper,  containing 
corrections  of  the  Latin  quotations  and  documents,  ob- 
servations on  the  English  narrative,  and  various  literary 
notices,  suggestions,  and  remarks,  applicable  to  different 
parts  of  the  book,  he  laid  before  Mr.  Roscoe. 

The  pleasure  which  this  task  afforded  Dr.  PaiT,  is 
described  by  one  of  his  pupils.  "I  well  recollect*  the 
manner  in  which  Dr.  Parr  devoured  every  page  of  Ros- 
coe's  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici.'  After  his  first 
perusal  of  the  book,  he  went  through  it  again  with  me, 
to  whom  he  dictated  numerous  critical  observations  and 
suggestions,  which  he  enclosed  in  a  complimentary  letter 
to  Mr.  Roscoe;  and  which,  I  believe,  led  to  a  friendly 
intercourse  between  the  Doctor  and  that  gentleman." 

The  following  letter  announced  these  valuable  com- 
munications :  — 


•  Field's  Memoirs  of  Dr.  Parr,  p.  440. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  133 

"  For  the  liberty  I  am  going  to  take  with  a  gentleman 
whom  I  have  not  the  honour  personally  to  know,  I  have 
no  other,  and  probably  I  could  find  no  better  apology, 
than  the  frankness  which  ought  to  subsist  between  literary 
men  upon  subjects  of  literature.  Your  '  Life  of  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici '  had  been  often  mentioned  to  me  by  critics 
whose  approbation  every  writer  would  be  proud  to 
obtain  ;  and  as  the  course  of  reading  which  I  pursued 
about  thirty  years  ago  had  made  me  familiar  with  the 
works  of  Poggius,  Pico  of  Mirandola,  Politian,  and 
other  illustrious  contemporaries  of  Lorenzo,  I  eagerly 
seized  the  opportunity  of  borrowing  your  celebrated  pub- 
lication from  a  learned  friend  at  Oxford.  You  will 
pardon  my  zeal,  Sir,  and  you  may  confide  in  my  sinceri- 
ty, when  I  declare  to  you,  that  the  contents  of  your  book 
far  surpassed  my  expectation,  and  amply  rewarded  the 
attention  with  which  I  perused  them.  You  have 
tlirown  the  clearest  and  fullest  hght  upon  a  period  most 
interesting  to  every  scholar.  You  have  produced  much 
that  was  unknoA'VTi,  and,  to  that  which  was  known,  you 
have  given  perspicuity,  order,  and  grace.  You  have 
shown  the  greatest  dihgence  in  your  researches,  and  the 
purest  taste  in  your  selection  ;  and,  upon  the  characters 
and  events  which  passed  in  review  before  your  inquisi- 
tive and  discriminating  mind,  you  have  united  sagacity  of 
observation,  with  correctness,  elegance,  and  vigour  of 
style.  For  the  credit  of  our  national  curiosity  and 
national  learning,  I  trust  that  the  work  will  soon  reach 
a  second  edition ;  and,  if  this  should  be  the  case,  I  will, 
with  your  permission,  send  you  a  list  of  mistakes  which 
I  have  found  in  some  Latin  passages,  and  which,  upon 
seeing  them,  you  will  certainly  think  worthy  of  con- 
sideration. Perhaps  I  shall  proceed  a  little  further,  in 
pointing  out  two  or  three  expressions  which  seem  to  me 

VOL.   I.  12 


134  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

capable  of  improvement,  and  in  stating  my  reasons  for 
dissenting  from  you  upon  a  very  few  facts  of  very  little 
importance." 

Mr.  Roscoe,  in  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  this 
friendly  letter,  expressed  the  readiness  and  satisfaction 
with  which  he  was  prepared  to  receive  the  promised 
criticisms ;  and  shortlv  afterwards  Dr.  Parr  enclosed 
tliem  to  him,  accompanied  by  the  following  letter  :  — ■ 

*'  I  am  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  acknowledging 
my  good  fortune  upon  the  acquisition  of  a  correspondent 
whose  candour  is  worthy  of  his  talents,  and  whose 
letters  are  fraught  with  all  the  elegance  and  all  the 
vigour  which  decorate  his  publication.  ...  I  rejoice, 
Sir,  not  so  much  upon  your  account,  as  upon  that  of 
your  readers,  to  whom  you  have  opened  so  large  and 
so  delightful  a  field  of  entertainment  and  instruction, 
when  you  tell  me  that  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo '  has 
already  gone  through  three  editions,  and  that  it  will 
soon  appear  in  an  octavo  form.  The  edition  open  be- 
fore me  is  that  of  1796.  I  borrowed  it  from  the  learned 
librarian  of  New  College,  Oxford  ;  and  I  shall  return  it 
next  week,  because  it  belongs  to  a  society,  where  you 
will  have  many  readers  very  capable  of  appreciating  your 
merit,  and  well  disposed  to  acknowledge  and  to  proclaim 
it.  .  .  .  By  what  the  ancients  would  have  called  the 
ajfjatiis  (Jivinus,  I  anticipated  your  willingness  to  let  me 
speak  with  freedom ;  and  your  letter  justifies  me  in 
ascribing  to  you  that  candour  which  is  the  sure  criterion 
and  happy  efiect  of  conscious  and  eminent  worth.  In- 
deed, Sir,  I  saw  in  your  work  vestiges  of  excellence, 
wliirh  in  my  estimation  is  of  a  much  higher  order  than 
taste  and  learning.  I  found  deep  reflection,  and  there- 
fore I  expected  to  find  a  dignified  and  virtuous  moderation 
in  the    science  of  politics.     I  met  with   sentiments   of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  135 

morality,  too  pure  to  be  suspected  of  hypocrisy,  too  just 
and  elevated  to  be  charged  with  ostentation ;  and  give 
me  leave  to  add,  that  they  acted  most  powerfully  on  the 
best  sympathies  of  my  soul.  If,  in  this  season  of  old 
corruptions  and  new  refinements,  a  Fenelon  were  to  rise 
up  among  us ;  and  if,  by  a  conversion  in  the  under- 
standings and  hearts  of  sovereigns,  not  less  miraculous 
than  that  recorded  of  Paul,  he  were  appointed  to  train 
up  the  heir  of  a  throne  to  solid  wisdom  and  sublime 
virtue,  sure  I  am  that  he  would  eagerly  put  your  book 
into  the  hands  of  his  pupil,  and  bid  him  — 

"  Nocturna  versare  manu,  versare  diiirna." 

^'  I  am  no  stranger  to  the  sweets  of  literary  and  social 
intercourse  between  kindred  spirits ;  and  therefore  I 
wonder  not  that  you  call  Dr.  Currie  your  friend.  Pre- 
sent my  best  compliments  to  him,  and  beheve  me,"  he. 

"I  last  night,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  reply,  ''had  the 
pleasure  of  receiving  your  packet,  containing  your  correc- 
tions and  observations  on  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici,'  and,  without  losing  a  moment,  began  the  perusal 
of  them.  The  great  length  to  which  they  appeared  to 
extend,  alarmed  and  surprised  me  ;  the  former,  from  an 
idea  that  my  mistakes  were  almost  innumerable  ;  the 
latter,  that  the  cleansinsi;  of  such  an  Aug-aean  stable  had 
not  entirely  overcome  your  patience.  .  .  .  It  is  not 
incumbent  on  me  to  express  the  obligations  I  feel  for 
the  great  labour  and  attention  which  you  have  bestowed 
upon  my  work,  and  which  acquire  a  double  value  from 
that  union  of  free  remark  and  friendly  expression  which 
constantly  occurs,  and  which,  even  if  I  were  so  weak  or 
so  ungrateful  as  to  feel  the  slightest  impulse  of  dissatisfac- 
tion against  any  one  but  myself  for  my  own  errors,  have 
so  effectually  removed  every  emotion  of  the  kind,  that  I 


136  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

can  justly  say  I  have  perused  the  remarks  from  beginnhig 
to  end  with  uniform  pleasure,  approbation,  and  respect." 

From  the  periodical  critics  of  this  country,  the  '  Life 
of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici '  met  with  almost  unqualified 
praise.  In  the  Analytical  Review,  published  by  Johnson, 
of  St.  Paul's  Church-yard,  it  was  reviewed  by  Fuseli, 
who  at  that  time  was  one  of  the  most  active  contributors 
to  the  work.  The  jud lament  of  one  who,  like  Fuseli, 
had  been  long  in  habits  of  friendship  with  the  author, 
and  who  had  avowed  to  him  his  intention  of  writing  the 
review,  can  hardly  be  referred  to  as  an  impartial  test  of 
the  merits  of  th^  publication  ;  3'et  the  following  charac- 
ter of  it,  given  at  the  conclusion  of  the  critique,  will 
perhaps  be  thought,  by  more  disinterested  judges,  to  be 
not  incorrect :  — ■ 

"  Notwithstanding  the  modesty  of  the  title,  the  '  Life 
of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici '  unites  the  general  history  of  the 
times  and  the  political  system  of  the  most  memorable 
country  in  Europe,  with  the  characters  of  the  most  cele- 
brated men,  and  the  rise  and  progress  of  science  and  arts. 
The  greatest  praise  of  the  historian  and  biographer, 
impartiality,  might  be  called  its  most  prominent  feature, 
were  it  not  excelled  by  the  humanity  of  the  writer,  who 
touches  with  a  hand,  often  too  gentle,  those  blemishes 
which  he  scorns  to  disguise.  It  is  impossible  to  read  any 
part  of  his  performance,  without  discovering,  that  an 
ardent  love  for  the  true  interests  of  society,  and  a  fervid 
attachment  to  virtue  and  real  liberty,  have  furnished  his 
motives  of  choice,  and  every  where  directed  his  pen. 
The  diligence  and  correctness  of  judgment  by  which  the 
matter  is  selected  and  distributed,  notwithstandinir  the 
scantiness,  obscurity,  or  partiality  of  the  documents  that 
were  to  be  consulted,  are  equalled  only  by  the  amenity 
with  which  he  has  varied  his  subjects,  and  the  surprising 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  137 

extent  of  his  information.  Simplicity,  perspicuity,  and 
copiousness,  are  the  leading  features  of  his  style  ;  often 
sententious  without  being  abrupt,  and  decided  without  an 
air  of  dogma ;  that  it  should  have  been  sometimes 
verbose,  sometimes  lax  or  minute,  is  less  to  be  wonder- 
ed at,  than  that  it  should  never  be  disgraced  by  affecta- 
tion or  pretence  of  elegance.  If  we  be  not  always  led 
by  the  nearest  road,  our  path  is  always  strewn  with 
flowers  ;  and  if  it  be  the  highest  praise  of  writing  to 
have  made  delight  the  effectual  vehicle  of  instruction, 
our  author  has  attained  it." 

The  success  of  the  work  on  the  Continent  was  no 
less  striking  than  in  England.  From  the  scholars  of 
Italy,  who  were  best  able  to  appreciate  its  merits,  it  met 
with  a  very  favourable  reception.  The  learned  Fabroni, 
\vith  a  candour  not  inferior  to  his  erudition,  was  the  first 
to  make  it  known  to  his  countrymen ;  and  though  he 
was  on  the  point  of  presenting  to  them  a  translation  of 
his  own  '  Life  of  Lorenzo,'  written  by  him  in  Latin, 
yet,  on  the  perusal  of  the  English  work,  he  abandoned 
that  design,  and  prevailed  upon  a  young  gentleman  of 
Pisa,  the  Cavaliero  Gaetano  Mecherini,  to  give  a  version 
into  Italian  of  the  English  life.  The  translation  was 
accordingly  pubhshed  at  Pisa,  in  the  year  1799,  *  under 
the  express  patronage  of  Fabroni,  who,  in  the  'following 
year,  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  congratulating 
him  on  the  success  of  his  labours.  —  ''La  celebrita," 
says  that  distinguished  scholar,  "  che  vi  siete  acquistata 
colla  Vita  di  Lorenzo  il  Magnifico  fa  che  io  non  mi 
penta  di  avervi  dato  un  impulso  di  scriverla  con  quella 


*  Vita  di  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  detto  il  Magnifico,  del  Dottore  Gugli- 
elmo  Roscoe;  versione  dall'  Inglese,  4  torn.  8vo.  Pisa,  1799.  See 
the  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,  p.  10.  and  the  Appendix,  No. 
III. 

12* 


138  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

ch'  io  publicai  del  medesimo.  Voi  avete  supplito  alle 
mie  mancanze,  e  se  avessi  saputo  in  tempo  il  disegno 
vostro,  avrei  potuto  trarre  da  quel  niedesimi  archivj  da 
cui  presi  niolti  preziosi  monunienti  relativi  al  mio  soggetto, 
altre  memorie  die  avrebbero  potuto  rendere  anche  piu 
copiosa  V  opera  vostra.  Questa  pero  e  tale  da  non  la- 
sciare  nulla  da  desiderare.  Permettetemi  che  me  ne  con- 
gratuli  con  voi,  con  me,  e  coll'  Italia  nostra ;  e  questa 
vi  sara  anche  piu  obligata  se,  come  sento,  darete  anche 
al  pubblico  la  Vita  di  Leon  X,  sulla  quale  anch'  io  ho 
lavorato,  publicando  due  anni  fa  il  libro  intitolato  Leonis 
X.  Pontificis  Maximi  Vita."  *  The  approving  judgment 
of  so  celebrated  a  scholar  as  Fabroni  was  in  the  highest 
degree  gratifying  to  Mr.  Roscoe.  "  It  cannot  but  give 
me  pleasure,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker, 
''to  find  that  my  work  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet 
with  the  approbation  of  some  distinguished  scholars  of 
that  country  (Italy),  among  whom  I  have  the  satisfaction 
to  mention  Monsignor  Fabroni,  Principal  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pisa ;  to  whose  valuable  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de* 
Medici,'  and  large  historical  collections  on  that  subject, 
I  haAC  been  so  much  indebted,  and  from  whom  I  have 
just  received  a  very  obliging  letter,  offering  me  all  his 
works,  amongst  which  is  a  '  Life  of  Leo  X.,'  written 
in  Latin,  and  published  by  him  about  two  years  ago. 
Fabroni  I  consider  as  a  well  informed,  liberal,  and 
judicious  liistorian.  His  'Lives  of  Learned  Italians,' of 
which  1  liave  several  volumes,  is  a  great  and  national  work, 
which  wiW  do  him  lasting  honour.  I  look  up  to  him  as 
a  sure  guide,  whenever  I  travel  the  same  road  with  him  ; 
nor  is  tliere  any  man  whose  favourable  o])inion  I  should 
have  been  more  anxious  to  obtain." 


•This  letter  is  published  in  the  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo, 
Appendix,  p.  S(!. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  139 

The  venerable  Angelo  Maria  Banclini,  who  presided 
for  more  than  half  a  century  over  the  Laurentian 
Library  at  Florence,  and  to  whose  labours  in  the  field 
of  literature  even  the  most  learned  scholars  of  that 
country  are  indebted,  also  expressed  in  strong  language 
his  admiration  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  :  — "  Eccede  trop- 
po  la  bonta  sua  verso  di  me,"  he  observes,  in  answer 
to  a  communication  from  Mr.  Roscoe,  "  che  altro  merito 
non  ho  verso  la  sua  degna  persona,  che  quello  di  aver 
resa  la  dovuta  giustizia  all'  opera  sua  immortale  della 
Vita  del  Mag*^".  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  uno  di  quel  rari 
genj  che  nella  rivoluzione  dei  secoli  la  natura  produce, 
a  confusione  dei  viventi."  ^ 

Mecherini's  translation  was  transmitted  to  Mr.  Roscoe 
through  the  Marquis  of  Douglas,  who  was  at  that  time 
travelling  on  the  Continent,  and  who,  immediately  upon 
his  return,  addressed  to  Mr.  Roscoe  the  following 
letter :  — 

"  It  is  with  particular  pleasure  that  I  address  myself 
to  a  man  whose  extensive  information  and  literary  abili- 
ties have  ensured  him  the  esteem  of  the  public.  Nor  is 
his  reputation  confined  to  his  own  country.  I  have  been 
not  a  little  gratified  in  hearing  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici '  most  highly  commended  in  Tuscany ;  and,  as 
a  proof  of  the  estimation  it  is  there  held  in,  I  am 
desired,  by  a  friend  of  mine,  to  transmit  the  enclosed 
letter  to  Liverpool.  I  should  tell  you.  Sir,  that  the 
translation  of  your  work,  which  ought  to  accompany  it, 
is  not  yet  conveyed  to  England.  It  is  packed  up  in  a 
box  of  books  of  mine  now  at  Leghorn.  As  soon  as 
the  case  gets  to  England,  I  will  forward  your  translation 
to  Lancashire  without  delay.     I  shall  say  nothing  of  the 


■^Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,  Appendix,  p.  82. 


140  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

young  author  who  has  so  industriously  sought  to  make 
known  your  work  in  Italy.  He  is  a  young  man,  a  friend 
of  Monsignor  Fabroni,  and  one  of  the  literary  society  at 
Pisa  ;  and,  being  attached  to  tlie  history  of  his  country, 
naturally  felt  a  lively  sense  of  gratitude  towards  one  who 
has  investigated  so  interesting  a  period  of  it  with  so 
much  ingenuity.  In  any  communication,  or  in  any  thing 
that  can  testify  my  personal  esteem  for  you,  I  shall  most 
willingly  assist  you." 

On  receivinir  this  communication,  Mr.  Roscoe  imme- 
diately  addressed  to  the  Cavaliero  Mecherini  the  follow 
ing  letter :  — 

*'  I  had  yesterday  the  pleasure  of  receiving,  through 
the  kindness  of  Lord  Douglas,  your  very  obliging  letter  of 
tlie  4th  of  June  last,  informing  me  that  you  had  sent  me 
a  copy  of  your  translation  from  the  English,  of  the  '  Life 
of  the  jNIag.  Lorenzo  de'  Medici.'  This  translation  I 
had,  indeed,  already  seen  with  the  sensations  of  a  parent 
who  finds  his  offspring  returned  from  a  distant  journey, 
improved  in  his  appearance,  language,  and  address.  I 
shall,  however,  receive  with  additional  pleasure,  when  it 
amves,  the  copy  with  which  you  have  honoured  me  ; 
and  shall  regard  it  as  a  monument  of  that  sincere  es- 
teem and  attachment  which  a  conformity  of  studies  and 
pursuits  cannot  fail  to  inspire. 

"  You  will  readily  conceive  the  satisfaction  it  must 
have  afforded  the  author  of  a  work  on  Italian  literature, 
to  find  that  his  labours  had  been  received  by  the  judicious 
and  learned  of  that  country  with  not  only  indulgence, 
but  protection  and  favour ;  but  if  there  is  a  person  whose 
approbation  I  should  have  wished  to  have  secured  be- 
yond that  of  any  other,  it  is  Monsignor  Fabroni,  who  has 
shown,  by  his  own  truly  valuable  and  learned  produc- 
tions, how  well  he  is  qualified  to  judge  on  those  subjects ; 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  141 

and  who,  in  the  kind  communications  with  which  he  has 
favoured  me,  has  displayed  a  degree  of  hberahty  and 
candour  which  have  made  an  indehble  impression  on  my 
mind,  and  secured  to  him  my  unakerable  attachment  and 
respect. 

"  With  regard  to  the  work  which,  by  your  partiality, 
now  appears  in  an  Italian  dress,  let  me  be  allowed  to 
remark,  that  although  I  have  observed,  on  some  occa- 
sions, a  difference  of  opinion  between  us,  as  appears  by 
the  Notes  you  have  subjoined,  yet,  upon  the  whole,  so 
far  from  being  surprised  at  this  diversity,  I  cannot  but 
think  it  extraordinary  that,  in  a  work  of  such  length, 
which  has  been  the  subject  of  consideration  to  two  per- 
sons in  different  countries,  of  different  religious  habits, 
and  opportunities  of  acquirement,  there  should  be,  in 
general,  such  an  union  between  us,  not  only  in  matters 
of  fact,  but  of  judgment.  In  one  instance  (vol.  iv.  p. 
112.),  I  could  have  wished  that  the  original  passage 
had  either  been  given  with  the  note,  or  the  passage 
omitted  without  so  pointed  a  reprehension ;  but  it  is  of 
little  importance ;  and  I  cannot,  perhaps,  expect  that,  in 
a  passage  where  I  certainly  have  not  consulted  the  feel- 
ings of  a  great  and  respectable  body  of  men,  I  should 
experience  any  extraordinary  indulgence  to  my  own. 

"  Since  the  publication  of  the  w^ork  which  has  pro- 
cured me  the  honour  of  your  notice,  I  have  employed 
a  considerable  portion  of  my  leisure  in  compiling  the 
^  Life  of  Leo  X. ; '  in  which  I  have  made  such  progress, 
that  I  expect  to  send  the  first  volume  to  the  press  in  the 
course  of  the  ensuino;  winter.  As  soon  as  this  is  com- 
pleted,  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  transmitting  you  a 
copy,  as  well  as  another  for  Monsignor  Fabroni,  to  whose 
learned  work  on  the  same  subject  I  shall  stand  greatly 
indebted,  particularly  in  the  more  advanced  stages  of  my 


142  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

iiaiTativ^e.  As  this  publication  will  probably  extend  to 
three  or  four  volumes,  it  will  be  some  lime  before  I  can 
hope  to  see  it  completed  ;  but  I  shall  make  a  particular 
object  of  forwarding  to  you  the  volumes  as  they  come 
from  the  press,  and  shall  think  myself  much  honoured 
by  any  observations  that  may  occur  to  you  on  the  pe- 
rusal." 

Amongst  the  many  other  distinguished  foreigners  who 
expressed  their  opinions  upon  the  work  was  the  cele- 
brated Abate  Andres.  "  During  my  residence  in  Italy," 
says  Mr.  Francis  Drake,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr. 
Roscoe,  "  I  lent  your  excellent  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici'  to  several  persons,  who  were  eager  to  peruse 
a  book  which  had  acquired  so  much  celebrity,  and 
amongst  others  to  the  Abbe  Andres,  a  Spanish  Jesuit,  a 
gentleman  of  very  extensive  reading,  and  a  critic  of  high 
reputation  in  Italy.  The  enclosed  paper  contains  his 
opinion  of  the  merits  of  the  work ;  and  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  to  transmit  it  to  you,  thinking  that  it  might 
be  very  flattering  and  grateful  to  see  how  few  and  how 
insignificant  the  inaccuracies  are  which  the  Abbe  fancies 
he  has  discovered  in  it,  perusing  it,  as  he  certainly  did, 
with  the  prejudices  of  his  order  and  of  his  religious 
tenets,  and  with  a  jealous  desire  of  diminishing  the  repu- 
tation of  a  work  so  superior  in  every  respect  to  any 
thing  which  has  been  produced  by  his  own  countrymen ; 
for,  though  he  was  formerly  a  Jesuit  in  Spain,  I  believe 
he  is  a  Florentine  by  birth." — ^"  I  am  equally  honoured 
and  obliged,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Drake, 
"  by  your  communication  of  the  paper  of  remarks  on 
my  'lj\k  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici.'  I  had,  indeed,  before 
seen  tliem,  through  the  favour  of  the  Earl  of  Bristol ; 
but,  as  they  were  anonymous,  your  letter  gratifies  me 
by  accjuainting  me  with  the  name  of  the  author,  which 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  143 

I  was  very  desirous  of  knowing.  With  the  very  learned 
and  extensive  work  of  the  Abate  Andres,  ^  Dell'  Origine, 
Progress!,  e  Stato  attuale  d'  ogni  Letteratiira,'  I  am  well 
acquainted,  and  I  think  myself  particularly  fortunate  that 
I  should  have  obtained,  in  any  degree,  the  approbation 
of  so  well-informed  a  critic,  who,  since  the  death  of 
Tiraboschi  of  Modena,  is,  perhaps,  the  best  literary  his- 
torian in  Italy.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  confessed 
that  his  general  approbation  is  pretty  much  counteracted 
by  his  particular  criticisms,  in  some  of  which  his  repre- 
hensions seem  rather  stronger  than  the  occasion  re- 
quires." 

The  general  commendation  expressed  by  the  Abate 
Andres  is  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  other  Italian  critics. 
—  "II  piacere  con  cui  ho  letta  la  Vita  di  Lorenzo  il 
Magnifico  del  Sig.  Roscoe,  e  la  sorpresa  e  maraviglia 
die  m'  ha  recato  il  vedere  in  un  Inglese  non  mai  venuto 
in  Italia  tanta  cognizione  e  si  pieno  possesso  della  lette- 
ratura  Italiana,  mi  fanno  sperare  che  tale  opera,  coronata 
dagli  applausi  de'  Letterati,  ottera  nuove  edizioni,  e 
desiderare  che  venga  in  esse  purgata  d'  alcuni  lievi  difetti 
osservabili  soltanto  perche  si  trovano  in  mezzo  a  tanti  e 
si  belli  pregi ;  nelle  avvenenti  bel  ezze  si  rendono  sensibili 
i  pill  piccioli  nei."*  The  particular  remarks  of  the 
learned  critic  are  noticed  by  Mr.  Roscoe  in  the  "  Illus- 
trations of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,"  where  he  has,  at  some 
length,  defended  himself  against  them. 

The  Abate  Jacopo  Morelli,  principal  librarian  of  St. 
Mark  at  Venice,  and  the  Canon  Domenico  Moreni,  of 
Florence,  likewise  bore  their  testimony  to  the  merits  of 
Mr.  Roscoe's  work.  The  latter,  in  his  "  Bibliografia 
Storico-Ragionata  della  Toscana,"  has  thus  spoken  of  it : 

*  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,  Appendix  No.  IV. 


141  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

—  '^  Contiene  questa  Vita  V  Istoria  di  gran  parte  della  j 
Famiglia    jNIedicea,     *     *     *     un    opera  si   bella   che 

sembra  fatta  per  1'  Italia,  e  che  iieir  Italia  dovea  esser  « 

fatta."*     In  tlie  year  1809,  IMoreni  edited  a  volumef  | 

which  he  dedicated  to    Mr.  Roscoe,   and  in  which  he  i 

expressed,  in  hii^h  terms,  his  favourable  opinion  of  the  ; 

"  Life  of  Lorenzo."  —  "  Ex  quo  Laurentii  IMedicis  cog-  \ 

nomcnto    Magnifici,    Artium    et    Platonicae    Philosophiae  i 
Restauratoris    Exiniii,    Vitam    typis    Liverpoolianis    im- 

pressam    pronuilgasti,    Italoruni    onmium    et    pnccipue  ; 

Florentinorum  admirationem,  benevolentiam,  et  maximam  ] 

tui  existimationem  tibi  conciliasti.  *    *    *  Alia  quidem  ' 

extat  Laurentii  vita,  quam  non  multis  abhinc  annis  An-  i 

gelus  Fabronius,  Academic  Pisana3  Prajses,  conscripsit,  j 

eaque  prorsus  laudanda  turn  re  rum  delectu,  turn  elegantia  j 
Latini  sermonis ;  at  Tua  latius  sese  extendit,  et  prseter 
propria  Laurentii  gesta,-  quidquid  ad  rem  tum  literariam, 

turn  politicam,   tum    bellicam    illius    aevi    pertinet,    miro  j 

nexu   comprehendit,  ita  ut  non  Italia?  solum,  sed  totius  ! 

ferme  Europae  historia  potius  appellari  queat.     Quaprop-  ] 

ter  literaria  Florentinorum  historia  maximam  inde  lucem  • 

acquisivit.     Revera    plures   magni    momenti    quaestiones  j 
optime   elucidas,  et  resolvis,  scriptores  inter  se   discre- 
pantes  concilias,  eximios  viros,  eosque  plures  ea  astate, 

tum    scientia,    tum    eruditione    pollentes,    et   Laurentio,  \ 

Medicea;que  familiar  acceptissimos  enumeras,   eorumque  i 

scripta  percenses,    et  illustras,  monumenta  insuper  per-  i 

anti(|ua,  et  })retiosissima  adeo  accurate  detegis,  et  inter-  | 

prctaris,  ut  etsi  in  regionibus  longe  a  nobis  dissitis  degas,  ^ 

in  media  tamen  urbe   nostra   scripsisse   videaris.     Hanc  j 

vero  adeo  celebras,  adeo  laudibus  exornas,  ut  sapientiae  ' 


•  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,  p.  39. 

t  Petri  Angelii  Borgoji  de  Bello  Senensi,  8vo.  Flor.  1809. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  145 

sedem,  doctriiiEe    emporium,    ac    universee    prope    Italiae 
Athenaeum  tunc  temporis  fuisse  affirmare  non  dubites." 

In  Germany,  as  in  Italy,  the  Life  of  '^  Lorenzo  de' 
Medici"  met  with  many  admirers,  and  was  fortunate 
enouoh  to  find  a  translator  in  the  celebrated  Kurt 
Sprengel,  of  Halle,  a  name  well  known  both  in  the 
scientific  and  the  literary  world.*  That  translation  ap- 
peared at  Berhn,  in  the  year  1797,  and  was  enriched  by 
tlie  editor  with  many  valuable  annotations.  A  dedication 
by  Sprengel  to  his  brotlier  was  prefixed  to  it,  containing 
an  ingenious  parallel  between  the  characters  of  Lorenzo 
and  of  Pericles.f  At  the  conclusion  of  the  dedication, 
the  writer  has  expressed  himself  in  the  following  manner 
with  regard  to  the  general  merits  of  the  Life :  — 

"  I  received  the  original  of  this  work  from  my  friend 
Forster  in  July  last,  to  whom  it  was  sent  from  England 
as  a  very  interesting  work.  Not  only  my  predilection 
for  Italian  literature,  the  study  of  which,  as  you  know^, 
has  been  the  most  agreeable  employment  of  my  leisure 
hours,  but  still  more  my  profession,  which  embraces  the 
sciences    connected  with   physiology,    prompted    me   to 


*  The  character  of  this  translation  is  described  in  a  letter  (dated 
27th  March,  1801,)  from  M.  Hufeland,  professor  of  jurisprudence 
at  Jena,  addressed  to  Mr.  Roscoe.  —  "  La  traduction  Allemande  est 
tombe  dans  des  mains  bien  habiles.  L'auteur  est  M.  Curt  Sprengel, 
professeur  en  medecine  et  directeur  du  jardin  botanique  a  I'univer- 
site  de  Halle,  savant  justement  estime  a  cause  de  sa  profonde  con- 
noissance  dans  I'Allemagne  pour  etre  a  nul  autre  second.  II  est 
outre  cela  extremement  verse  dans  la  litterature  Italienne  des  siecles 
passes.  Sa  traduction  de  votre  ouvrage  est  tres-estimee  ;  il  n'y  a 
que  peu  de  morceaux  qu'on  a  censure  comme  ne  rendant  pas  le 
sens  de  I'original,  a  la  maniere  la  plus  exacte.  11  a  enrichi  cette 
traduction  des  notes  dont  on  fait  I'eloge,  Je  n'en  puis  pas  juger 
par  mes  propres  yeux,  n'ayant  pas  la  traduction  dans  ce  moment  de- 
vant  moi." 

t  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,  Appendix  No.  I. 

VOL.  I.  13 


146  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

peruse  this  work  with  the  greatest  attention.  As  the 
author  frequently  refers  to  Fabroni,  1  endeavoured  to 
procure  that  work  hkewise,  and  obtained  the  loan  of  it 
from  a  friend  abroad.  At  first,  I  was,  like  Roscoe,  in- 
clined to  translate  Fabroni,  and  to  take  the  additions 
from  Roscoe  ;  the  more  so,  as  the  frequent  digressions 
of  the  latter  appeared  to  me  to  be  detrimental  to  the 
unity  of  the  work.  But  I  soon  found  that  the  Italian 
was  hesitating  and  partial  in  his  judgments,  and  that  he 
wanted,  above  all,  the  spirit  of  free  discussion  and  exten- 
sive knowledge  of  the  Englishman.  I  found,  too,  that 
the  principal  advantage  of  Fabroni's  work,  as  a  careful 
supplier  of  original  documents,  the  most  important  of 
which  Roscoe  had  already  inserted  in  his  work,  must  be 
dispensed  with  in  a  German  publication  ;  and,  finally  that 
the  want  of  unity  and  of  a  fixed  plan,  which  appeared 
to  me  on  first  opening  Roscoe's  work,  w^as  only  imagin- 
aiy,  and  vanished  upon  a  mature  and  impartial  investiga- 
tion. I  found,  lastly,  so  many  charms  in  the  composition 
of  the  Englishman,  that  I  readily  preferred  translating 
his  work  to  rendering  Fabroni  into  German,  and  endeav- 
oured to  supply  out  of  Fabroni  such  references  only  as  I 
found  wanting  in  Roscoe." 

The  success  of  the  work  in  Germany  was  communi- 
cated to  Dr.  Curric  l)y  one  of  his  medical  correspondents 
in  lliat  country.  "  You  will  have  heard,"  says  Dr.  Cur- 
rie  to  a  friend  in  America,  "  of  the  great  success  of 
Mr.  Roscoe's  Life  of  Lorenzo.  It  far  exceeds  the  hopes 
of  his  most  sanguine  friends.  A  third  English  edition 
is  preparing,  and  two  translations  into  German  are  ad- 
vertised in  the  Literary  Gazette  of  Jena :  the  one  by 
Forster,  who  went  round  the  world  with  Cook  ;  the 
other  by  K.  Sprengel,  autlior  of  the  "  Authentic  His- 
tory  of   Medicine ; "   both    professors   at   Halle.      The 


LIFE    OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  147 

account  given  of  it  in  this  Literary  Gazette  (the  first 
German  Review)  is  extremely  flattering."  * 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1801,  that  Mr.  Roscoe  was 
informed  of  the  translation  of  his  work  which  had  ap- 
peared in  Germany.  On  learning  the  fact,  he  imme- 
diately addressed  to  Professor  Sprengel  the  following 
letter :  — 

"  It  is  only  a  few  days  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  that  a  work  I  published  some  years  ago  — 
'  The  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici '  —  had  been  hon- 
oured by  a  translation  into  the  German  language,  to 
which  I  find  prefixed  your  very  respectable  name. 
Accept  my  thanks,  Sir,  not  for  the  choice  you  made  of 
the  work,  —  for  you  were  led  to  that  by  higher  motives 
than  a  personal  consideration  for  its  author,  —  but  for  the 
abilities  and  learning  you  have  shown  in  supplying  my 
deficiencies,  and  particularly  for  the  beautiful  parallel 
drawn  in  your  dedication  between  the  character  of  Lo- 
renzo and  that  of  Pericles ;  of  the  golden  age  of  Flor- 
ence, with  that  of  Athens,  —  a  subject  on  which  I  knew 
my  own  deficiencies  too  well  to  venture,  and  which  I 
rejoice  to  find  executed  with  a  degree  of  feeling,  learn- 
ing, and  taste,  which  stamp  a  real  value  on  the  work. 
The  enthusiasm  which  I  felt  in  the  composition  of  my 
history,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  the  character  of  the 
great  man  who  forms  its  principal  subject,  is  again  re- 
vived by  the  just  commendations  you  have  bestowed 
upon  him  ;  and  in  this  similarity  of  sentiments,  and  of 
studies  —  this  desire  to  difiuse  and  to  perpetuate  the 
remembrance  of  those  who  have  improved,  ennobled, 
and  humanised  mankind  — ■  I  feel  a  bond  of  union,  a 
principle  of  attraction,  which  emboldens  me,  though  a 

*  Life  of  Dr.  Currie,  vol.  ii.  p.  95. 


148  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

sti'anger,  to  request  your  favourable  re2;ard,  your  esteem, 
and  your  friendsliip,  as  one  who,  in  a  remote  part  of  the 
world,  and  under  innumerable  disadvantages,  has  expe- 
rienced similar  emotions  with  yourself,  and  which  he  can 
only  regret  that  it  has  never  been  in  his  power  to  par- 
ticipate with  you. 

'"  I  cannot  help  remarking  it  as  a  pleasing  circum- 
stance, that  in  the  course  of  last  year  I  purchased, 
through  the  means  of  a  mercantile  house  here,  the 
Herbarium  of  the  late  celebrated  Dr.  Forster,  at  Halle, 
with  whom  I  perceive  you  have  lived  in  habits  of 
friendship.  The  specification  of  this  collection  had 
been  entrusted  to  your  judgment,  and  I  again  recog- 
nised you  in  another  capacity.  I  mention  this  circum- 
stance to  show  that  our  pursuits  have  another  similarity, 
and  that  our  dispositions  (if  I  may  be  allowed  the  ex- 
pression) touch  at  more  points  than  one.  You  will 
have  a  pleasure  in  hearing,  that  the  Forsterian  Herba- 
rium is  arrived  safe  at  Liverpool,  and  has  given  perfect 
satisfaction  ;  and  that  its  utility  will  not  be  confined  to 
an  individual,  as  it  is  now  destined  to  become  one  of 
the  chief  ornaments  of  a  museum  belonQ-ino;  to  a  botanical 
garden,  now  forming  in  this  place  by  the  aid  of  a  public 
subscription,  and  which  I  am  in  hopes  will  give  an 
im})ulse  to  this  most  pleasing  and  attractive  study, 
hitherto  so  greatly  neglected  in  this  part  of  the  world." 

In  the  year  1799,  a  French  translation  of  the  Life 
of  Lorenzo  a]-)]-»carcd  at  Paris.  The  translator,  M. 
Fran(;ois  Thurot,  in  a  letter  prefixed  to  the  version, 
containing  various  criticisms  upon  the  work,  accuses  the 
author  of  viewing  his  hero  with  too  })artlal  an  eye,  and 
of  being  unfiithful  in  his  representations  of  the  political 
history  of  Italy.  In  other  respects,  he  speaks  of  the 
work   in   more    commendatory   terms:  — "  J'ai    trouve 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  149 

comine  vous,  citoyeiij  le  livre  de  M.  Roscoe  extreme- 
ment  recommandable,  par  les  idees  liberales,  qui  y  sont 
repandues,  par  les  connoissances  etendues,  et  les  re- 
cherches  profondes  qu'il  renferme  sur  I'histoire  et  sur  la 
litterature  de  la  republique  de  Florence,  et  meme  du 
reste  de  I'ltalie.  D'ailleurs,  le  ton  de  candeur,  qu'y 
regne  partout,  la  maniere  noble  et  dccente  avec  laquelle 
I'auteur  discute  ou  critique  les  opinions  des  ecrivains 
qui  I'ont  precede  dans  la  meme  carriere,  inspirent  une 
estime  reelle  pour  son  caractere  personnel,  en  meme 
temps  que  son  style  harmonieux  et  elegant,  son  gout  pur 
et  eclaire,  donnent  de  ses  talens  Fidee  la  plus  avanta- 
geuse."  * 

In  America,  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  was  not  reprinted 
till  the  year  1803,  when  an  edition  was  published  at 
Philadelphia,  by  Messrs.  Bronson  and  ChaCmcey  ;  and 
the  whole  impression  was  immediately  disposed  of.  "It 
would  be  a  proof  of  insensibility,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in 
a  letter  to  those  gentlemen,  "  of  which  I  am  incapable, 
were  I  not  highly  gratified  by  this  extension  of  my  work 
through  a  new  continent,  and  by  the  long  list  of  eminent 
and  respectable  persons  who,  by  their  liberal  encour- 
agement of  your  proposed  edition,  have  afforded  it  so 
unequivocal  a  testimony  of  their  approbation ;  and  this 
satisfaction  is  heightened  by  the  consideration  that  this 
is  the  sentiment  of  a  country  where  political,  civil,  and 
religious  liberty  are  enjoyed  in  a  degree  almost  unex- 
ampled in  the  history  of  the  human  race." 

*  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,  Appendix  No.  IL 

13* 


CHAPTER   VI. 


179G  — 1799. 

Mr.  Roscoe,  dissatisfied  with  his  profession,  relinquishes  it.  —  Let- 
ters to  Mr.  Ralph  Eddovres  —  Mr.  Rathbone.  —  Visits  London 
—  becomes  a  member  of  Gray's  Inn.  —  Society  in  London.  —  Let- 
ters to  Dr.  Currie,  Mr.  Rathbone,  and  Mr.  Daulby.  — Lord  Or- 
ford's  death. —  Sir  Isaac  Heard.  —  Washington's  genealogy. — 
Return  to  Liverpool.  —  Translates  the  "  Balia  "  of  L.  Tansillo.  — 
The  Dutchess  of  Devonshire.  —  Sonnet  to  Mrs.  Roscoe.  —  Letter 
from  Lord  Holland.  —  Dr.  Currie's  criticism.  —  Letter  to  Dr. 
Wright.  — Visit  to  Mr.  Daulby  at  Rydal  Mount— his  death- 
sonnet  addressed  to  him  —  lines  on  his  death.  —  Establishment  of 
the  Athenaeum  at  Liverpool.  —  Letters  to  Mr.  Edwards  respecting 
Mr.  Coleridge. —  Robert  Burns  —  letters  respecting  him — monody 
on  his  death  —  letter  from  Dr.  Moore.  —  Publication  of  third 
edition  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Parr. 

The  branch  of  the  profession  which  circumstances 
had  induced  Mr.  Roscoe  to  adopt,  was,  in  many  respects, 
ill  suited  to  his  character  and  tastes ;  and  the  desire 
which  he  felt  to  abandon  it  is  frequently  expressed  in 
his  letters  to  Mrs.  Roscoe,  written  during  those  occa- 
sional absences  from  home,  which  his  professional  avo- 
cations required.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  her  some 
years  after  the  commencement  of  his  practice,  he  says, 
—  "  The  more  I  see  of  business,  the  more  I  lament  the 
weakness  of  the  understanding  and  the  depravity  of  the 
human  heart,  and  that  sometimes  wilful  and  sometimes 
involuntary  blindness,  which  prevents  the  appearance  of 
trull).  Would  to  God  I  could  find  myself  cased  of  the 
weight  of  business,  and  restored  to  your  arms  !  and  if  I 
miiiht  indulge  a  still  further  wi.sh,  it  should  be  to  retire 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  151 

with  you  to  some  peaceful  retreat,  where,  with  a  sparing 
competence,  we  might  hve  to  ourselves,  and  bid  adieu 
to  an  employment  which  preys  upon  my  happiness,  and 
disgusts  me  with  myself  and  mankind." 

In  another  letter,  also  addressed  to  Mrs.  Roscoe,  from 
Carlisle,  where  he  had  been  disappointed  by  the  result 
of  a  business  in  which  he  was  much  interested,  he  says, 
— ^"Believe  me,  I  am  almost  disgusted  with  my  profes- 
sion, as  it  affords  me  a  continual  opportunity  of  observing 
the  folly  and  villany  of  mankind.  I  must,  however, 
submit  to  my  task  till  such  time  as  Providence  shall 
think  proper  to  enable  me  to  dispense  with  it ;  and  as 
soon  as  that  is  the  case,  it  is  my  fixed  resolution  to  with- 
draw myself  from  so  hateful  an  employment.  To  obtain 
this  desirable  end,  my  own  endeavours  shall  not  be 
wanting,  and  I  trust  they  will  not  be  in  vain.  Those 
needless  expenses  w^hich  have  hitherto  been  a  continual 
drain  shall  be  abolished,  and  whatever  can  be  obtained 
by  an  honourable  and  upright  attention  to  business  shall 
be  secured  by  economy  and  prudence." 

Though  the  success  of  Mr.  Roscoe  in  his  profession 
had  fully  equalled  his  expectations,  and  had  been  the 
means  of  affording  him  a  very  competent  liveliliood,  he 
continued  to  look  with  anxiety  for  the  period  when  he 
might  feel  himself  justified  in  retiring  from  the  anxieties 
of  business.  The  scheme  in  which,  in  the  year  1793, 
he  had  engaged,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Wakefield,  for 
draining  and  cultivating  an  extensive  tract  of  peat-moss 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Manchester,  continued  to  occupy 
a  considerable  share  of  his  attention,  and  in  the  ultimate 
success  of  this  undertaking  he  felt  the  greatest  confi- 
dence. To  this  source  he  probably  looked  for  a  recom- 
pence  in  relinquishing  his  profession,  —  a  step  which  he 
took  in  the  course  of  the  year  1796,  not  long  after  the 


lo'2  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

publication  of  his  "  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  IMedici."  The 
motives  which  led  to  this  change  arc  shortly  adverted  to 
m  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  his  friend  Mr. 
Ralph  Eddowes,  of  Philadelphia  :  — 

"  Since  I  last  addressed  you,  1  have  made  a  very 
important  change,  though  not  a  local  one,  and  have 
entirely  relinquished  my  profession ;  having,  however, 
fii-st  made  an  arrangement  with  my  late  partner,  Mr. 
Lace,  productive  of  some  advantage  to  me.  This  I  have 
been  induced  to  do  rather  from  a  concurrence  of  many 
reasons,  than  from  any  one  predominent  circumstance ; 
but  1  must,  in  truth,  confess  that  a  consciousness  that  I 
was  not  suited  for  the  profession,  nor  the  profession  for 
me,  has  long  hung  about  me,  and  that  I  have  taken  the 
iSrst  opportunity  which  has  been  allowed  me  of  divesting 
myself  of  it  altogether.  Add  to  this,  that  my  under- 
takiuii'  in  the  draining  of  Chat  and  TralTord  mosses  bears 
a  favourable  aspect ;  and  that  I  shall  be  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  being  so  frequently  absent  from  Liverpool,  as 
would  render  it  impossible  for  me  to  carry  on  the  busi- 
ness of  the  law  with  satisfaction  either  to  my  clients  or 
myself." 

A  note  to  Mr.  Rathbone,  written  about  the  same  time 
as  the  preceding  letter,  manifests  very  clearly  the  tone 
of  Mr.  Roscoe's  mind  at  the  period  of  this  change. 

*'  I  am  much  obliged  by  the  tailpiece  to  your  letter 
of  to-day,  though,  to  say  the  truth,  it  amounts  to  nothing 
more  tlian  calling  me  (in  very  friendly  terms)  an  idle 
and  extravagant  fellow,  who  is  playing  off  the  artful  trick 
of  g(.'tting  hold  of  the  conveniences  and  pleasures  of  life 
without  [)crf()nuing  any  of  its  duties.  This  1  relish 
tlie  worse,  as  I  am  not  sure  that  there  is  not  some 
degree  of  truth  in  it ;  but  I  am  much  surer,  that  to  toil 
and   hibour  for   the   sake  of  labourini]:  and  toilinir,  is  a 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAIV;,    ROSCOE.  153 

much  more  foolish  part ;  and  that  it  is  the  curse  of  God 
upon  avarice,  that  he  who  has  given  himself  up  too 
lonof  to  its  dominion  shall  never  be  able  to  extricate 
himself  from  its  chains.  Surely  man  is  the  most  foolish 
of  all  animals,  and  civilised  man  the  most  foolish  of  all 
men.  Anticipation  is  his  curse  ;  and  to  prevent  the 
contingency  of  evil,  he  makes  life  itself  only  one  con- 
tinued evil.  Health,  wisdom,  peace  of  mind,  conscience, 
are  all  sacrificed  to  the  absurd  purpose  of  heaping  up, 
for  the  use  of  life,  more  than  life  can  employ,  under  the 
flimsy  pretext  of  providing  for  his  children,  till  practice 
becomes  habit,  and  we  labour  on  till  we  are  obhged  to 
take  our  departure,  as  tired  of  this  world  as  we  are 
unprepared  for  the  rational  happiness  of  the  next. 

"  I  have  much  more  to  say  to  you  on  this  subject,  but 
this  is  not  the  place  for  it.  I  shall  therefore  leave  you 
to  your 

'  Double  double, 
Toil  and  trouble, 
Fire  burn,  and  caldron  bubble,' 

whilst  I  go  to  the  arrangement  of  the  fifth  class  of  my 
plants,  and  take  my  chance  of  a  few  years  in  a  work- 
house, some  fifty  years  hence,  which  I  shall  think  well 
compensated  by  having  had  the  lot  to  live  so  long." 

Whether  at  the  time  of  his  retiring  from  business, 
Mr.  Roscoe  had  any  idea  of  resuming  his  profession,  at 
some  future  period,  as  a  barrister,  does  not  appear ;  but 
from  his  silence  with  regard  to  such  a  design  in  his  con- 
fidential letters,  it  may  be  inferred  that  no  plan  of  the 
kind  had  been  arranged.  In  the  month  of  February, 
1797,  he  visited  London ;  and  it  was  probably  during 
his  residence  there  that  he  determined  to  become  a 
member  of  one  of  the  inns  of  court,  with  a  view  to  being 
called  to  the  bar.    He  accordingly  was  entered  at  Gray's 


154  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE. 

Inn,  and  kept  Hilary  term,  which  was  the  only  progress 
he  made  towards  this  new  object.  The  reasons  which  < 
prevented  liim  from  tlie  further  prosecution  of  this  de-  , 
sign  were  various.  Tlie  afiiiirs  of  his  late  partnership  j 
were  not  yet  finally  arranged,  his  agricultural  undertaking  | 
required  his  frequent  presence,  while  that  love  of  retire-  j 
ment,  which  had  prompted  him  to  abandon  one  branch  | 
of  the  profession,  ultimately  induced  him  to  relinquish  j 
tlie  study  of  the  other.  Though  late  in  life  for  so  im-  I 
portant  a  change,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Roscoe 
did  not  prosecute  his  intention  of  being  called  to  the  bar,  ' 
possessing,  as  he  did,  those  qualities  which  must  in  all  i 
probability  have  rendered  his  success  certain.  ■ 

The  literary  reputation  which   he  had  lately  acquired     ' 
by  the  publication  of  the  "  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,"     | 
and   the  kindness  of  the   IMarquis  of  Lansdowne,   who     I 
hap])ened  at  that  time  to  be  in  town,  afforded  him  the     i 
means  of  forming  some  new  and  valuable  acquaintances,     \ 
in  the  political  as  well  as  in  the  literary  world.     He  had 
the   gratification  of  becoming  personally  known  to   Mr.     , 
Fox  and  Mr.  (now  Lord)   Grey,   and  of  acquiring  the    ' 
friendsliip  of  Dr.  Moore,  the  author  of ''  Zeluco."    Much 
of  his  time  was   also  agreeably  spent  amongst   persons 
whom  he  had    long   known    and    esteemed,  but   whose    j 
society    his    distant   residence   permitted    him    rarely   to    j 
enjoy.  , 

In  his  letters  to  his  friends.  Dr.  Currie  and  Mr.  Rath- 
bone,  he  mentions,  with   pleasure,  the  various  persons    i 
whom  he  had  seen.     In  a  letter  to  the  former  he  says, —    i 

"  Your  introduction   to  Dr.  Moore   was   received   by 
him   \\\{\\   great  kindness,  and   has   been   the   source  of    j 
much  satisfaction  to  me.     My  wife  and  I  dined  there  on    j 
Thursday.     The  party  w^re  Dr.,  Mrs.,  and  Miss  Moore;    \ 
the  Doctor's  two  sons,  James,  the  surgeon,  and  Charles, 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  155 

the  lawyer ;  Mr.  GifFord,  the  poet ;  Fuseh ;  ma  femme, 
and  myself.  I  hope  I  need  not  say  our  tmie  passed  very 
pleasantly.  The  Doctor  is  full  of  anecdote  ;  Fuseli  is 
a  hero  in  conversation  ;  Charles  gave  us  some  good  im- 
itations of  the  oratory  of  Burke,  Dundas,  he. ;  GifFord 
is  a  little,  rather  common  looking  man,  but  shrewd  and 
intelligent,  though  not  very  talkative.  I  have  paid  the 
Doctor  several  morning  visits,  and  he  has  called  on  me. 
At  one  of  these  he  showed  me  the  original  of  Burns's 
life,  and  several  other  letters,  papers,  and  poems ;  all  of 
which,  he  says,  are  at  your  service,  if  you  wTite  the  life. 
He  will  also  consent,  I  doubt  not,  to  his  letters  being 
printed,  after  having  first  perused  them.  Fuseli  is  an 
old  acquaintance  of  the  Doctor's,  whom  he  calls  a  good, 
unctions,  sociable,  family  man. 

"  I  liave  been  frequently  with  the  Marquis  (of  Lans- 
downe)  at  morning  visits,  and  am  to  dine  with  him  on 
Tuesday.  At  one  of  these  morning  calls  I  met  with 
Mr.  Grey,  and  had  a  good  deal  of  interesting  conversa- 
tion with  him  and  the  Marquis  ;  and  yesterday  I  met 
Mr.  Fox  there,  and  had  a  long  discussion  on  the  face  of 
affairs  at  home  and  abroad,  he.  In  these  accidental 
rencontres  I  consider  myself  fortunate  ;  but  I  shall  not 
at  present  attempt  to  sketch  the  conversation  that  took 
place.  All  I  shall  say  is,  that  opposition,  to  judge  from 
its  leading  members,  seems  to  have  now  no  certain  sys- 
tem or  bond  of  union.  Whether  these  visits  to  the 
Marquis  were  mere  ceremony,  or  portend  some  new  ar- 
rangement, I  know  not,  but  presume  the  former.  I  left 
Mr.  Grey  with  the  Marquis,  but  out-sate  Mr.  Fox,  as  he 
instantly  left  the  room  when  I  got  up  to  go  away.  The 
people  here  begin  to  talk  about  the  French  preparations ; 
but  nobody  seems  to  care.  The  fact  is,  they  are  too 
busy  to  attend  to  such  matters.     ^  Two  shall  be  grinding 


156  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

at  the  mill,'  he. :  you  are  too  well  read  in  the  sacred 
volumes  to  stand  in  need  of  an  interpretation." 

The  following  letter  was  written,  a  few  days  afterwards, 
to  Mr.  Rathbone  :  — 

"  This  morning,  and  at  this  hour,  I  was  to  have  had 
tlie  superlative  honour  of  being  introduced  to  the  Duch- 
ess of  Gordon ;  but  recollecting  that  I  could  appear  be- 
fore her  Grace  in  no  other  capacity  than  as  one  of  those 
puppies, 

'  who  dangle  up  and  down, 


To  fetch  and  carry  sing-song  thro'  the  town,' 

I  have  thought  proper  to  decline  the  challenge ;  and  in- 
stead of  acquiring  new  fashionable  acquaintance,  shall 
devote  this  half  hour  to  old  solid  friendship. 

*'  How  you  will  envy  me,  when  I  tell  you,  that  last 
Saturday,  I  had  an  hour's  familiar  conversation  with  Mr. 
Fox,  at  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne's,  where  I  before  had 
accidentally  met  ]Mr.  Grey.  Of  these  rencontres,  I  put 
nothing  on  paper;  not  altogether  because  of  the  old 
proverbs,  '  Littera  scripta  manet,'  and  '  Nescit  vox  emissa 
reverti  ; '  nor  yet  because  of  the  provisions  of  the  two 
acts  ;  but  because  it  would  occupy  too  much  of  my  paper, 
and  require  more  time  than  I  can  at  present  spare.  I 
dine  to-day  with  the  ]\iarquis  ;  but  think  there  will  be 
no  company.  Should  any  thing  interesting  occur,  cither 
there  or  elsewhere,  1  will  again  take  uj)  my  pen. 

"  Tlie  people  here  are  of  opinion  the  French  will  pay 
us  a  visit ;  but  they  have  no  doubt  that  British  courage 
will,  with  God's  assistance,  soon  make  them  repent  of 
tlieir  temerity.  A  shopkeeper  in  the  Strand  told  me, 
that  as  God  had  fought  for  us  when  the  enemy  appeared 
off  Ireland,  He  would  not  surely  desert  us  when  they 
attacked    England.      What   can   such   a   pious   people 


LIFE     OF      WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  157 

have  to  fear  from  a  nation  of  infidels  ?  When  mh'acles 
are  daily  performed  in  our  favour,  it  seems  absurd  to 
have  recourse  to  human  means.  A  few  days  since,  I 
sent  a  short  paper  to  '  The  Morning  Chronicle,'  pointing 
out  the  necessity  of  immediately  adverting  to  the  alterna- 
tive of  peace,  whilst  it  was  yet  practicable  ;  but  it  has 
not  been  suffered  to  appear.  In  fact,  every  thing  is 
matter  of  party ;  and  as  the  ministry  set  up  the  cry  of 
danger,  the  opposition  papers  take  the  other  side  of  the 
question,  and  affect  to  consider  their  wailings  as  a  fluther 
pretence  to  raise  loans  and  impose  taxes ;  and  those 
who  have  only  at  heart  the  real  good  of  the  country, 
without  regarding  either  ministry  or  opposition,  cannot 
obtain  even  a  hearing.  I  much  fear  the  predominating 
idea  of  men  of  all  parties  is  individual,  personal  ag- 
grandisement, and  that  the  welfare  of  the  country  is  only 
a  secondary  consideration  ;  or  rather,  perhaps,  a  cloak 
to  cover  their  real  purpose.  There  are  only  two  classes 
of  men  ;  viz.  those  who  would  sacrifice  themselves  for 
their  country,  and  those  who  would  sacrifice  their  country 
to  themselves.  Which  of  these  are  the  most  numerous 
I  shall  not  pretend  to  say ;  though  I  think  I  have  in  the 
course  of  my  life  met  with  an  instance  or  two  of  the 
former." 

To  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Daulby,  then  resident  at 
the  Lakes,  Mr.  Roscoe  writes  in  a  lighter  vein  :  — • 

"  From  the  midst  of  all  the  delights  that  London 
afibrds,  I  condescend  to  salute  the  lonely  inhabitants  of  the 
sohtary  hills  and  cheerless  wilds  of  Westmoreland. 
Here,  every  thing  is  life  and  gaiety ;  the  rattling  of 
wheels,  the  winding  of  horns,  and  the  ringing  of  bells, 
performing  a  continual  chorus ;  whilst  with  you,  the 
chirping  of  a  robin  red-breast,  or  the  lowing  of  a  cow, 
is  all  that   gratifies  your   ears.     At   this  hour  you  are, 

VOL.    I.  14 


158  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

perhaps,  complaining  of  the  clear  and  nipping  air,  or 
incommoded  with  the  beams  of  the  noonday  sun  ;  whilst 
here  an  impenetrable  vapour  screens  us  from  his  rays, 
and  forms  a  soft  and  sociable  atmosphere,  breathed  from 
die  lungs  of  a  million  of  people,  who  would  not  exchange 
tliis  happiness  for  any  other  the  world  could  give. 

"  But  to  tell  you  the  truth,  my  dear  Dan,  I  begin  to 
be  shockingly  tired  of  my  abode.  Except  Fuseli's  pic- 
tures from  IMilton,  whicli  are  certainly  much  beyond 
even  my  expectations,  I  have  seen  little  which  lias 
pleased  me  in  the  way  of  art." 

In  another  letter  to  Mv.  Daulby,  he  says,  "  So  far 
my  journey  has  been  agreeable  enough  ;  but  the  hurry 
of  engagements  discomposes  one's  mind,  and  the  idea  of 
neglecting  to  return  civilities  conferred  embitters  those 
which  w^e  receive.  I  have  seen  many  literary  and  sin- 
gular characters,  and  formed  some  connections,  which 
may  prove  agreeable  if  not  useful.  Pictures  I  have 
bought  none,  —  prints  not  above  40s.  worth,  —  books  a 
few ;  and  to-day  I  have  ordered  a  few  plaister  busts 
and  figures  to  be  sent  to  Liverpool.  I  have  seen  many 
eminent  political  characters,  but  must  take  another  op- 
portunity of  giving  you  particulars." 

During  his  stay  in  town  Mr.  Roscoe  had  hoped  to 
have  an  opportunity  of  becoming  personally  acquainted 
with  Lord  Orford,  who  had  frequently  expressed  a  desire 
to  meet  him.  Unfortunately  at  this  period  his  Lordship's 
state  of  health  was  such  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of 
an  interview.  "  Soon  after  my  arrival  in  town,"  says 
Mr.  Roscoe,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Dr.  Currie,  "  1 
called  at  Lord  Orford's,  but  found  him  dangerously  ill, 
and  not  in  a  slate  to  be  seen.  I  therefore  introduced 
myself  to  liis  intimate  friends,  the  Miss  Berrys,  who 
resided  a  long  time  in  Italy,  and  with  whom  I   dined 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  159 

yesterday.  They  told  me  they  had  mentioned  to  him 
that  I  was  in  town,  to  which  he  answered,  '  Alas !  it  is 
too  late — -I  shall  never  see  him.'  He  afterwards  said, 
*  It  is  a  melancholy  thing  to  be  so  much  dead  and  so 
much  alive  ! '  It  is  not  yet  improbable  that  he  may 
so  far  recover,  as  that  I  may  get  a  sight  of  him,  which  I 
confess  would  much  gratify  my  curiosity."  The  illness, 
however  of  this  venerable  nobleman,  who  had  held  a 
distinguished  rank  in  the  literary  world  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  proved  fatal. 

Amongst  the  persons  with  whom  Mr.  Roscoe  at  this 
time  became  acquainted,  was  the  late  Sir  Isaac  Heard, 
Garter  principal  King  at  Arms.  This  acquaintance  led 
him  to  the  knowledge  of  a  singular  fact  respecting  General 
Washington,  w^hich  he  afterwards  communicated  to  an 
American  gentleman  in  the  following  letter :  —  ''I  have 
now  the  pleasure  of  performing  my  promise  of  repeating 
to  you,  by  letter,  the  information  I  gave  you  in  Liver- 
pool respecting  the  memorial  of  General  Washington 
and  his  family,  drawn  up  in  his  own  handwriting,  and 
sent  by  him  to  the  late  Sir  Isaac  Heard,  Garter  King 
at  Arms,  to  be  enrolled  by  him  in  the  records  of  the 
Heralds'  College,  London. 

"  It  is  now  about  thirty  years  since  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  form  an  acquaintance  with  Sir  Isaac  Heard, 
who  was  a  kind  friend,  an  excellent  patriot,  and,  I  need 
scarcely  add,  a  very  worthy  man.  On  visiting  him  one 
day  in  his  office  in  Doctors'  Commons,  I  observed  a  por- 
trait over  the  chimney  piece,  not  sufficiently  characterised 
for  me  to  decipher,  and  to  the  best  of  my  recollection 
not  in  the  first  style  of  art. 

'^  I  could,  however,  perceive  that  it  was  not  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  personage  who  might  have  been  expected 
to  preside  at  the  fountain  of  honour ;  and  on  expressing 


IGO  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

my  surprise  to  Sir  Isaac,  and  enquiring  whose  portrait  it 
was,  he  re))Hed  in  liis  usual  energetic  manner,  '  Whose 
is  it  ?  Whose  should  it  be  ?  but  the  portrait  of  the 
greatest  man  of  the  age,  —  General  Wasliington.'  On 
my  assenting  to  this  remark,  he  added,  '  JNow,  sir,  I  will 
show  you  sometliing  farther.'  And  turning  to  his  archives 
he  took  out  some  papers,  consisting  of  several  sheets 
closely  written,  saying,  '  Here,  sir,  is  the  genealogy  and 
family  history  of  General  Washington,  with  which  he 
lias,  at  my  request,  furnished  me,  in  his  own  hand-writing, 
and  which  I  shall  have  a  particular  pleasure  in  preserv- 
mg  amongst  the  most  precious  records  of  my  office ; ' 
which  I  have  no  doubt  he  has  accordiuiilv  done,  and 
where  I  presume  they  may  still  be  seen  on  application  to 
the  proper  authorities." 

The  visit  of  Mv.  Roscoe  to  London  was  not  extended 
beyond  a  few  weeks,  and  he  gladly  returned  to  his  home, 
and  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  leisure  he  had  lately  secur- 
ed. But  a  state  of  complete  inactivity  was  little  suited 
to  his  character,  and  his  mind  turned  eagerly  to  the  same 
pursuits  with  which  it  had  been  recently  occupied.  Of 
his  employments  at  this  time  a  pleasanter  picture  can- 
not be  conveyed  than  that  given  in  the  following  short 
extract  from  a  letter  addressed  by  IMrs.  Roscoe  to  her 
sister.  Miss  Griflies  :  — "  My  husband  is  a  happy  man  in 
his  various  resources.  He  has  this  afternoon  got  a 
charming  importation  of  ])lants  from  Vienna,  which 
completes  a  ]in?'t  of  his  botanical  collection.  He  is  deep 
in  Greek  and  historical  researches,  and,  above  all,  you 
will  be  glad  to  hear,  in  good  health  and  s])ints." 

Italian  literature  again  engaged  his  attention,  at  first 
without  any  ])articular  object,  but  as  he  proceeded,  new 
designs  occurred  to  liis  mind.  In  ])erusing  the  writings 
of  the  Italian  poets  of  the  sixteenth  century,   probably 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  161 

with  a  view  to  the  composition  of  his  "  Life  of  Leo  X.," 
he  had  been  greatly  stmck  with  the  "  Baha "  of  Luigi 
Tansillo,  the  contemporary  of  Ariosto  and  of  Tasso. 
The  simphcity  and  elegance  of  this  poem,  and  the  skill 
with  which  the  subject  to  which  it  is  addressed  was  treat- 
ed, excited  Mr.  Roscoe's  warm  admiration,  and  induced 
him  to  present  a  version  of  it  to  the  English  public.  The 
pleasant  occupation  also,  which  such  a  task  afforded, 
was  an  additional  encouragement  to  him  to  proceed. 
"  It  is  not,"  he  says  in  his  preface  to  the  poem,  "  the 
translator's  intention  to  assert,  that  a  previous  considera- 
tion of  these  circumstances  led  him  to  undertake  the 
present  version  of  the  poem.  The  truth  is,  that  having 
of  late  enjoyed  a  greater  share  of  leisure  than  he  has 
formerly  experienced,  he  has  employed  some  part  of  it 
pleasantly  to  himself,  if  not  usefully  to  others,  in  an 
occupation  which,  without  requiring  the  exertion  of 
original  composition,  satisfies  the  besoin  d^agir,  and  by 
calming  the  reproaches  allays  the  irritation  of  total  indo- 
lence. He  must  also  be  allowed  to  observe,  that  the 
hope  of  promoting,  in  some  degree,  the  laudable  object 
which  the  author  himself  had  in  view,  if  it  did  not  lead 
him  to  undertake  the  translation,  operated  as  a  chief 
inducement  to  lay  it  before  the  public." 

The  lines  near  the  conclusion  of  the  poem,  in  which 
the  author  alludes  to  the  noble  ladies  of  his  own 
country  — 

"  Or  se  vedessi  (o  giorni  benedetti !) 

Le  Colonne,  le  Ursine,  le  Gonsaghe 
'     Ed  altre  tai  co'  cari  figli  ai  petti  —  " 


su2:2:ested  to  the  translator  the  introduction  of  a  name 
distinguished    amongst   the    most    distinguished   of   the 
English  nobility.     But  unwilling  to  take  this  step  without 
14* 


16*2  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE, 

her  permission,  lie  applied  to  his  friend  Dr.  Moore  on 
the  subject,  from  whom  he  received  the  following  reply  : 
—  *'  1  sjioke  to  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  on  the  sub- 
ject you  mentioned  in  your  letter.  She  will  be  hisxhly 
pleased  with  what  you  propose.  She  was  undoubtedly 
the  first  person  of  her  rank  in  Ejigland  who  intro- 
duced the  laudable  custom  which  is  recommended  in 
Luigi  Tansillo's  poem,  and  she  is  rewarded  by  the  great 
resemblance  in  constitution  and  disposition  between  the 
child  she  nursed  and  herself.  Her  Grace  has  suflicient 
taste  to  be  a  great  admirer  of  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo ; ' 
and  she  is  the  more  delighted  with  what  you  intend ^ 
because  she  relished  the  English  translations  in  that 
work  particularly.  She  spent  six  months  in  Tuscany  ; 
understands  the  Italian  perfectly  ;  and  preferred  se\  eral 
of  the  translations  to  the  original ;  and  your  book  afforded 
her  additional  pleasure  by  recalhng  some  very  agreeable 
scenes  to  her  memory." 

The  lines  in  which  her  grace's  name  occurs  are  the 
following,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  poem :  — 

"  O  happier  times,  to  truth  and  virtue  dcar^ 
Roll  swiftly  on !    O  golden  days  appear ! 
Of  noble  birtli,  wlien  every  matron  dame 
Sliall  the  high  meed  of  female  merit  cLaim ; 
Then  loveliest,  wlien  her  babe  in  native  charms 
Hangs  on  her  breast  or  dunces  in  her  arms  ; 
Thus  late,  with  angel  grace  along  tlie  j)lain, 
Illustrious  Devon  led  Britannia's  train : 
And  whilst  by  frigid  fasiiion  unrej)rcst, 
She  to  chaste  transjx)rts  opened  all  her  breast, 
Joy'd  her  loved  babe  its  j)layful  hands  to  twine 
Round  her  fair  neck,  or  midst  her  locks  divine,. 
And  from  the  fount  with  every  grace  imbued,, 
Drank  iieavenly  nectar,  not  terrestrial  food. 
—  So  Venus  once,  in  fragrant  bowers  above» 
ClaspM  to  her  rosy  breast  intnwrtal  Love  ; 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  163 

Transfused  soft  passion  thro'  his  tingling  frame, 
The  nerve  of  rapture  and  tlie  heart  of  flame. 
Yet  not  with  wanton  hopes  and  fond  desires 
Her  infant's  veins  the  British  matron  fires  ; 
But  prompts  the  aim  to  crown  by  future  worth 
The  proud  pre-eminence  of  noble  birth." 

The  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  in  a  note  to  Mr.  Roscoe, 
expressed  the  gratification  she  had  received  from  this 
introduction  of  her  name,  and  the  satisfaction  she  felt 
*'  in  seeing  the  practice  of  nursing,  of  which  she  had 
ever  been  an  enthusiastic  advocate,  so  honoured  and 
recommended  as  it  was  by  the  poem  Mr.  Roscoe  has 
beautifully  translated." 

To  this  translation  the  following  sonnet  addressed  to 
Mrs.  Roscoe  was  appropriately  prefixed :  — 

"  As  thus  in  calm  domestic  leisure  blest 

I  wake  to  British  notes  th'  Ausonian  strings, 
Be  thine  the  strain  ;  for  what  the  poet  sings 
Has  the  chaste  tenor  of  thy  life  exprest. 

And  whilst  delighted,  to  thy  willing  breast, 
With  rosy  lip  thy  smiling  infant  clings, 
Pleased  I  reflect,  that  from  those  healthful  springs     ' 
—  Ah  not  by  thee  with  niggard  love  represt  — 

Six  sons  successive,  and  thy  later  care. 

Two  daughters  fair  have  drunk ;  for  this  be  thine 
Those  best  delights  approving  conscience  knows ; 
And  whilst  thy  days  with  cloudless  suns  decline. 

May  filial  love  thy  evening  couch  prepare. 
And  soothe  thy  latest  hours  to  soft  repose.'* 

"  There  is  perhaps  no  part  of  tlie  book,"  says  Lord 
Holland,  in  a  letter  thanking  Mr.  Roscoe  for  a  copy  of 
the  ''  Nurse,"  "  that  I  like  better  than  that  which  is 
exclusively  your  own,  the  sonnet  to  Mrs.  Roscoe :  of 
the  merit  of  that  species  of  composition,  which  is  so 
highly  esteemed  and  minutely  criticised  by  the  Italians, 


164  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

I  am  afraid  I  liave  not  a  very  accurate  notion ;  but  I 
know  tliat  1  seldom  read  any  in  English  that  give  any 
pleasure,  and  do  not  recollect  one  in  the  language,  at 
tliis  moment,  which  seems  to  me  as  pretty  as  that  which 
you  have  prefixed  to  your  translation.'' 

The  translation  of  the  "Nurse"  was  submitted  to 
Dr.  Currie,  who  returned  it  with  the  following  criti- 
cisms :  — 

"I  have  peiiised  the  'Nurse'  with  attention,  and 
upon  the  whole  with  much  pleasure  ;  and  I  see  nothing 
either  in  the  general  impression  it  is  likely  to  produce, 
or  m  the  effect  of  particular  passages,  that  should  pre- 
vent your  publishing  it,  or  indeed  render  the  measure 
doubtful.  You  must  not,  however,  expect  that  it  will 
increase  the  reputation  of  the  biographer  of  '  Lorenzo 
de'  INIedici.'  It  is  enough  that  it  is  not  unworthy  of  him, 
aiid  that  you  give  it  to  the  world,  as  the  truth  is,  not 
as  a  laboured  effort  of  your  talents,  but  as  the  occasional 
occupation  and  amusement  of  a  vacant  hour,  in  the 
midst  of  more  serious  engagements.  The  versification 
is  easy  and  flowing,  and  possesses  considerable  variety. 
Your  numbers  rise  and  fall  with  the  sentiment  they 
embody,  which  is  generally,  but  not  always,  distinctly 
expressed.  I  think  you  have  a  few  lines  which  might 
have  been  improved  with  a  little  care  ;  but  it  is  perhaps 
well  to  exhibit,  in  some  cases,  the  marks  of  a  little  nedi- 
gence  to  heighten  the  general  effect.  The  compliment 
to  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  which  every  body  \\ill 
read  and  quote,  is  very  fine.  The  four  lines  beginning 
^  So  Venus,'  &ic.  are  singularly  beautiful ;  but  I  wish 
you  had  been  prompted  by  the  muse  to  a  better  or 
smoother  termination.  My  objection  is  to  prampts  the 
aim ;  it  is  not,  however,  very  material. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  165 

*'  The  prose  in  your  preface  and  notes  is,  as  usual, 
easy,  luminous,  and  correct.  I  see  nothing  to  object  to 
as  to  sentiment,  and  little  or  nothing  as  to  style.  Yet 
you  have,  I  think,  got  one  or  two  Latinisms.  Why 
should  Ranza  concede  the  MSS.  It  might  have  been  as 
well  to  deliver  them,  or  perhaps  still  better  to  have 
given  them  up,  p.  10.  In  the  same  page,  line  10.,  you 
use  adverts  to,  as  I  suspect,  for  mentions;  and  in  p.  14, 
adverted  to  is  certainly  employed  for  detailed,  examined^ 
or  discussed.  You  are  very  fond  of  adverting. 
g_  "I  have  only  farther  to  observe,  that  it  will  be  wished 
by  the  ladies  that  you  had  translated  the  quotations  in 
tlie  notes  as  well  as  in  the  preface.  I  have  no  doubt 
tlie  ^  Nurse'  will  make  some  noise."* 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Wright  of  Edinburgh  (the  friend  of 
Dr.  Currie),  Mr.  Roscoe  thus  alludes  to  his  transla- 
tion :  — 

"  I  beg  you  to  accept  my  very  sincere  thanks  for  your 
present  of  your  '  Medical  Admonitions,'  and  for  the 
obliging  letter  by  which  they  were  accompanied.  *  *  * 
I,  too,  have  had  the  temerity  to  rank  myself  as  a  fellow- 
labourer  in  the  same  good  cause ;  and  though  I  have 
lived  too  long  to  expect  that  any  striking  effects  can  be 
produced  on  the  public  morals  and  manners,  either  by 
exhortation  or  reproof,  yet  I  certainly  feel  a  sensible 
pleasure  in  seeing  my  translation  recommended  by  those 
whose  approbation  is  alone  worth  estimating ;  and  in  the 
hope  that  if  these  days  of  empyricism,  of  prophecy,  of 
folly,  and  of  barbarism,  should  be  destined  ever  to  have 
a  termination,  this  slight  production  may  have  some 
effect  in  promoting  those  affections  by  which  society  is 
bound  together,  and  effecting  those  beneficent  purposes 

*  Life  of  Dr.  Currie,  vol.  ii.  p.  335. 


166  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

at  which  it  avowedly  aims.  Such  are  the  hopes  of  au- 
thors !  But  the  gloom  thickens  round  Europe  ;  and  in 
the  contest  hetween  principles  pushed  to  their  wildest 
extremes  on  the  one  hand,  and  total  want  of  principle 
on  the  other,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  spot  on  earth  where 
the  mind  can  with  satisfaction  repose.  In  this  mighty 
convulsion,  all  interference  can  only  ruin  the  intermed- 
dler ;  and  the  song  of  exultation,  like  the  voice  that 
animated  it,  must  now  be  still.  In  the  mean  time,  there 
is  some  consolation  in  reflecting,  that  the  path  of  utility  is 
not  entirel}'  closed ;  and  that,  although  the  people  of  the 
earth  will  allow  of  no  interference  in  their  devout  determi- 
nation to  cut  each  others'  throats,  it  may  yet  be  allowed 
to  recommend  it  to  their  consideration,  whether  it  is 
proper  they  should  be  poisoned  by  quacks,  or  murder 
their  children  by  unnatural  neglect." 

In  the  summer  of  the  year  1797  the  leisure  which 
Mr.  Roscoe  had  acquired  permitted  him  to  visit  his 
brother-in-law,  Mr.  Daulby,  then  residing  at  Rydal 
Mount,  near  Ambleside  ;  but  he  only  arrived  to  be  present 
at  the  last  moments  of  one  whom  he  had  long  esteemed 
and  loved. 

A  refined  and  cultivated  taste  for  the  fine  arts,  and 
for  elegant  literature,  led  in  early  life  to  an  intimacy 
between  Mr.  Daulby  and  Mr.  Roscoe,  which  was  after- 
wards drawn  closer  by  dearer  ties.  Some  years  after 
the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Mr.  Daulby  was  fortunate 
enough  to  win  the  affections  of  Miss  Roscoe  ;  and  her 
brother  was  ha])])y  in  seeing  her  hand  bestowed  upon  so 
ajiiiable  and  acconqjlished  a  man.  It  was  probably  about 
the  period  of  tliis  attachment,  that  the  following  sonnet 
was  adchesssed  by  Mr.  Roscoe  to  his  friend  :  — 

"  Daulby !  wlio  oft  liast  bow'd  bcncatli  the  smart 
Of  keen  affliction,  yet  surviv'd  to  know 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  167 

More  blissful  hours  return,  and  through  thine  heart 

Health's  temperate  flood  and  native  spirits  flow ; 
Think  not  the  hand  that  led  thee  through  the  gloom 

Will  now  forsake  thee  —  still  thy  breast  shall  prove 
The  lasting  transports  of  a  happier  doom, 

Each  charm  of  health,  and  every  sweet  of  love. 
—  Yet  should  thy  God  permit  the  storm  to  rise 
(His  ways  inscrutable  to  mortal  eyes). 

Dim  thy  fair  hopes,  and  bid  thine  ills  increase, 
Despair  not ;  for  while  Virtue  is  thy  guide. 
Secure  thy  bark  shall  stem  the  bursting  tide, 

And  gain  the  haven  of  eternal  peace." 

Amongst  other  works  of  art  Mr.  Daulby  possessed  a 
very  complete  and  valuable  collection  of  the  prints  of 
Rembrandt,  of  whose  works  he  published  a  catalogue, 
which  still  maintains  a  high  character  among  the  collec- 
tors of  prints.  To  this  volume  Mr.  Roscoe  added  a 
preface  of  considerable  length. 

The  taste  and  accomplishments  of  Mr.  Daulby  (which 
have  descended  to  his  children)  are  adverted  to  in  the 
following  lines,  written  by  Mr.  Roscoe  at  the  time  of 
his  death :  — 

"  O  formed  by  Heaven  of  purer  clay 

To  kindle  at  the  Poet's  lyre. 
To  catch  from  Art  her  magic  ray, 

And  melt  at  Music's  raptured  wire  ; 
Yet  may'st  thou  still  with  cold  regard 

These  transitory  joys  resign, 
Secure  of  Virtue's  high  reward. 

The  approving  smile  of  Power  Divine." 

It  is  one  of  the  first  duties  of  those  who  have  derived 
from  literary  studies  that  gratification  and  improvement 
which  they  always  impart,  to  afford  every  opportunity  to 
others  of  obtaining  the  same  rational  enjoyments.  This 
duty  was  never  neglected  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  who  was  ever 


168  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

anxious  to  communicate  to  those  around  liim  the  ad- 
vantages of  which  he  himself  partook,  and  who  was 
especially  desirous  to  cherish  in  others  tliat  taste  for 
elegant  literature  which  had  contributed  so  much  to  his 
own  happiness.  His  intluence  in  this  respect  was  felt, 
from  a  very  early  period,  in  the  circle  of  his  own  imme- 
diate friends ;  and  he  eagerly  took  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  to  produce  similar  impressions  upon  the 
minds  of  his  townsmen. 

Previously  to  the  present  year  (1797),  the  only  literary 
institution  which  Liverpool  possessed  was  a  library,  of  a 
limited    nature,    the    books    of   which    were    circulated 
amongst   the   subscribers.     An    establishment   like   this, 
though  useful  and  improving,  was  obviously  incapable  ot 
supplying   that    assistance    which    the    researches    of    a 
scholar  require.     A  gentleman  of  considerable   literary 
talents,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  the  late 
Mr.  Edward  Rogers  of  Liverpool,  struck  with  the  want 
of  a  more  extensive  library,  and  pleased  with  an  institu- 
tion devoted  to  literary  purposes  which  he  had  seen  at 
Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  proposed  to  several  of  his  friends 
the    erection  of   a   similar    establishment    at    Liverpool. 
For  some  time  the  project  was  considered  impracticable ; 
but  at  length,  by  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor, 
another  of  Mr.  Roscoe's   friends   (member  of  a  family 
distinguished  for  virtues  and   talents),  and  of  Dr.  Rutter, 
a  number  of  gentlemen,  amongst  whom  was  Mr.  Roscoe, 
were  induced  to  assemble  together  for   the    purpose  of 
introducing  the  })roposed  establishment  to  the  notice  of 
the  public.     A  prospectus  was  drawn  up   by  Dr.  Rutter, 
and  the  plan  being  approved  of,  a  public  meeting  was 
called,  and  measures  taken  to  carry  it  into  effect.     Al- 
though  party    politics    at    that    time    ran    very    high    in 
Liverpool,  they  did  not  operate  to  the  detriment  of  this 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE,  169 

design ;  and  persons  of  all  shades  of  opinion  concurred 
in  the  establishment  of  an  institution  devoted  solely  to 
literary  improvement. 

The  Athenaeum  consists  of  a  news-room  and  library, 
now  containing  a  very  valuable  collection  of  books  in 
various  departments  of  literature,  upwards  of  16,000  in 
number.  Each  proprietor  has,  in  addition  to  the  per- 
sonal use  of  the  library,  the  right  of  nominating  one 
young  person  as  a  reader,  and  of  introducing  any  number 
of  strangers. 

Such  is  the  origin  of  an  institution  which  has  served 
as  a  model  for  many  similar  establishments  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  It  has  been  frequently  supposed 
that  the  idea  of  it  originated  with  Mr.  Roscoe,  an  error 
which  will  be  corrected  by  the  above  details.  He  was 
indeed  a  very  active  member  of  the  committee,  and  de- 
voted much  of  his  time  and  attention  to  the  selection  and 
arrangement  of  the  library  ;  not  the  less  eager  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  the  new  establishment  because  he 
could  not  claim  for  himself  the  honourable  title  of  its 
founder.  * 


*  The  services  of  Mr.  Roscoe  to  this  institution  were  commemo- 
rated, after  his  death,  in  the  following  resolution  :  — 

"  At  the  General  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Proprietors, 
July  12th,  1831. 

"  On  the  motion   of  Mr.   Ottiwell  Wood,  seconded  by  Mr.  Adam 

Hodgson, 

"  It  was  resolved, 

"  That  the  proprietors  of  the  Athenaeum  cannot  separate  without 
expressing  their  grateful  recollection  of  the  services  this  Institution 
derived  at  its  first  establishment  from  the  late  William  Roscoe,  Esq., 
and  the  great  regret  which  they  feel  that  it  can  no  longer  be  bene- 
fited by  the  advice  and  assistance  of  a  man  whose  literary,  scientific, 
and  benevolent  exertions  so  justly  entitled  him  to  their  esteem  and 
admiration." 

VOL.    I.  15 


170  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

The  attachment  of  Mr.  Roscoe  to  literature  was  ex- 
tended to  those  who,  hke  himself,  had  laboured  in  her 
service.  His  desire  to  be  useful  to  such  as  stood  in  need 
of  assistance  is  manifested  by  the  following  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards  of  Birminfrham  :  — 

"  I  had,  some  time  since,  the  favour  of  a  letter  from 
you,  intended  to  have  been  dehvered  by  Mr.  Coleridge, 
but  had  not  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him,  as  I  believe  he 
altered  his  intended  route,  and  did  not  pay  a  visit  to 
Liverpool. 

"  I  read  with  great  pleasure  his  Condones  ad  Popn- 
lum,  which  I  think  contain  marks  of  that  disinterested 
ardour  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  that  abhoiTence  of 
violence  and  bloodshed  under  whatever  pretence  they 
may  be  resorted  to,  Avhich  in  times  like  the  present  are 
so  particularly  necessary  to  be  inculcated.  Mr.  Cole- 
ridge is  one  of  the  few  individuals  who  have  perceived 
the  absurdity  of  the  maxim,  that  it  is  lawful  and  expe- 
dient to  shed  the  blood  of  those  by  whom  it  is  likely  that 
blood  will  be  shed,  and  which  thus  authorises  the  com- 
mission of  an  innnediate  and  actual  crime,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  one  which  is  remote  and  uncertain, 
the  pretexts  of  tyrants  and  of  anarchists,  at  all  times  and 
in  all  countries. 

''  It  was  with  much  concern  I  found  he  had  adopted 
the  resolution  of  discontinuing  his  periodical  paper  of  the 
'  Watchman.'  1  conceive  he  did  not  give  it  a  sufficient 
trial,  and  that  if  he  had  persevered  he  would  have  found 
the  extent  of  its  circulation  increase.  Periodical  works 
of  this  nature  are  generally  slow  in  taking  root,  but 
when  once  established  are  very  lucrative ;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  but  tlie  paper  in  question  would,  if  continued, 
have  been  of  very  extensive  utihty. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  171 

"  With  the  little  volume  of  Mr.  Coleridge's  poems  I 
have  been  greatly  delighted  —  his  genius  is  of  the  highest 
class.  The  characteristics  of  a  fervid  imagination  and  a 
highly  cultivated  taste  are  visible  in  every  page.  I 
must,  however,  be  allowed  to  remark,  that  where  excel- 
lence is  so  abundant  selection  might  be  employed  to 
advantage.  He  ought  not,  for  a  moment,  to  forget  that 
he  virites  for  immortality,  which  many  have  attained  by 
condensing  their  excellencies,  and  many  have  lost  by 
diffusing  them  through  too  large  a  mass.  There  are  few 
authors  who  would  not  lose  a  considerable  share  of  their 
reputation  were  the  public  in  possession  of  all  they 
wrote. 

"  It  would  give  me  much  pleasure  to  be  informed, 
that  Mr.  Coleridge's  prospects  in  life  are  such  as  are 
likely  to  give  free  scope  to  the  exertions  of  those  un- 
common talents  of  which  he  is  possessed ;  and  I  shall 
esteem  myself  much  obliged  by  any  information  you  can 
give  me  respecting  him. 

"  His  concluding  address  to  his  ^  Watchman '  deeply 
affected  me,  as  it  spoke  the  regret  of  a  virtuous  mind 
disappointed  in  its  efforts  to  do  good.  I  have  since  heard 
that  Bristol  is  not  a  place  likely  to  reward  his  merits.  If 
so,  might  you  not  recommend  it  to  him  to  pay  a  visit 
to  Liverpool,  where  I  know  many  who  would  be  happy 
to  see  him,  and  who  would  have  a  particular  pleasure  in 
promoting  any  plan  which  he  might  suggest  for  render- 
ing his  talents  advantageous  to  his  country  and  to  him- 
self? " 

Amongst  the  writers  of  the  day  there  was  no  one 
whose  genius  and  whose  history  interested  Mr.  Roscoe 
more  deeply  than  those  of  Robert  Burns.  The  vigour, 
beauty,  and  simplicity  of  his  poetry,  and  the  manly 
candour  of  his  character,  excited  his  warmest  admiration. 


172  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

In  his  "  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  "  he  took  the  op- 
portunity of  paying  a  well  deserved  compliment  to  the 
poet,  and  was  about  to  transmit  to  him  a  copy  of  that 
work,  when  he  was  informed  of  his  death.  But  the 
productions  of  ]Mr.  Roscoe  were  not  wholly  unknown  to 
Burns,  in  whose  hand-writing  a  copy  of  the  song  "  O'er 
the  vine-cover'd  hills "  was  presented  to  Mr.  Roscoe 
by  Mrs.  Riddell,  accompanied  with  the  following  note:  — 

"  Our  friend  Dr.  Currie  has  mentioned  to  me  that 
the  enclosed  poem,  found  amongst  Burns's  manuscripts, 
which  we  were  lookino-  throuirh  this  mornino;,  mio-ht  be 
acceptable  to  you  to  place  amongst  your  own,  from 
the  circumstance  of  its  being  written  in  the  poor  bard's 
hand  about  two  years  ago,  and  given  by  him  to  myself, 
as  a  poetical  production  to  which  he  was  enthusiasti- 
cally partial."  The  interest  which  Mr.  Roscoe  felt  in 
the  fate  of  the  Scottish  poet  is  expressed  in  the  following 
letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards  of  Birmimrham  :  — 

"  It  has  of  late  been  my  opinion  that  great  talents 
are,  in  the  present  times,  often  repressed  for  want  of  a 
very  small  degree  of  encouragement ;  and  the  death  of 
poor  Bums,  which  has  occurred  since  I  wrote  to  you, 
confirms  me  in  this  opinion.  I  cannot  express  to  you 
how  sensibly  I  am  affected  by  this  event.  I  had  not, 
indeed,  the  pleasure  of  his  personal  acquaintance  ;  but  at 
the  time  he  was  taken  ill  he  was  preparing  for  a  journey 
to  Liverpool,  and  had  done  me  the  lionour  (and  it  is  an 
honour  of  which  I  shall  always  be  proud)  of  sending  me 
word  that  he  intended  to  pay  me  a  visit.  His  example 
lias  fixed  the  value  of  high  poetical  attainments  in  Scot- 
land, and  they  amount  to  the  place  of  an  exciseman, 
Willi  a  salary  of  fifty  pounds  per  annum.  Such  has  been 
the  munificence  of  the  Scotch  peerage  and  the  Scotch 
gentry    to    a    man    who    has   done  more   honour  to  his 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  173 

country  than  all  the  throat-cutters  it  ever  bred.  May 
they  never  have  another  opportunity  of  insulting  genius 
with  paltry  and  insidious  rewards  1  " 

The  whole  of  Bums's  manuscripts,  "  even  to  the 
copybook  in  which  his  little  boy  had  been  practising  his 
writing  */'  having  been  sent  to  Dr.  Currie,  were,  with 
the  exception  of  such  as  were  manifestly  unfit  for  publi- 
cation, laid  by  him  before  Mr.  Roscoe,  who  perused 
them,  as  it  may  be  supposed,  with  the  deepest  interest, 
and  made  various  suggestions  with  regard  to  their  publi- 
cation, f  The  hints  thus  given  met  with  the  entire 
approbation  of  Dr.  Currie,  who  produced  in  his  "Life 
of  Burns  "  one  of  the  most  delightful  and  instructive 
pieces  of  literary  biography  in  the  language. 

The  indignant  sympathy  felt  by  Mr.  Roscoe  in  the 
fate  of  Burns  was  again  evinced  in  a  monody  on  his 
death,  which  was  introduced  by  Dr.  Currie  in  his  life 
of  the  poet.  "I  formerly  mentioned  to  you,"  says  the 
biographer  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Syme,  the  friend  of  Burns, 
"  that  I  had  received  two  monodies  on  Burns,  —  one 
by  Roscoe,  another  by  Rushton.  They  have  both  great 
merit,  especially  the  first ;  but  they  have  a  common 
fault,  —  that  of  attacking  the  ingratitude  of  Burns's  coun- 
trymen too  violently.  I  objected  this  to  my  friend  Ros- 
coe, but  I  have  not  been  able  to  prevail  on  him  to  alter 
his  poem  in  this  or  in  several  other  particulars  ;  partly 
because  there  is  no  reasoning  down  the  indignation  of  a 
poet  on  a  subject  of  this  kind,  and  partly  because  what 
poetry  he  writes,  which  is  very  little,  he  executes  at  a 
single  exertion,  and  cannot  be  got  to  retouch."  f 

The  indignation  of  Mr.  Roscoe  as:ain  breaks  out  in 
the  following  letter :  — • 

*  See  the  Life  of  Dr.  Currie,  vol.  i.  p.  27L 
t  Ibid.  t  Ibid.  p.  268. 

VOL.    I.  15  * 


174  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

*^I  enclose  you  Robert  Burns's  naiTatlve.  I  send  you 
also  my  rhymes,  which  have  unaccountably  taken  some- 
what of  a  satirical  turn,  and  will  perhaps  be  thought 
(at  least  in  the  PSorth)  more  severe  than  the  occasion 
requires.  From  what  I  can  collect  from  his  writings  and 
his  narrative,  I  am  of  a  different  opinion  ;  and  cannot  but 
think  that  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  unfeelino:  nedect  of 
his  opulent  countrymen,  whose  patronage  he  courted  by 
every  means  consistent  with  the  independence  of  his 
character,  and  whose  bounty  terminated  in  chaining  him 
to  a  station  which  differs  in  no  respect  from  that  of  a 
galley-slave,  except  that  the  latter  only  shackles  the 
body,  and  the  former  both  the   body  and  the  mind." 

The  monody  was  much  admired  by  all  those  who, 
like  its  author,  sympathised  deeply  in  the  fate  of  the 
poet.  The  powerful  effect  which  it  produced  on  the 
feelings  of  Dr.  Moore  is  described  in  the  following  man- 
ner by  that  gentleman  :  — 

"  1  have  been  just  telling  your  friend  Dr.  Currie  that 
I  was  employed  till  after  four  o'clock  this  morning  in 
reading  the  first  volume  of  the  new  edition  of  '  Burns,' 
and  in  wandering  through  the  other  three  volumes  desul- 
torily. After  breakHist  I  took  up  the  first  again,  and 
])egan  to  read  your  poem  to  my  wife  and  daughter.  When 
I  came  to  the  stanza  beginning,  '  With  stepdame  eye,' 
&:c.,  my  heart,  which  was  much  affected  before,  became 
at  once  so  overwhelmed  with  an  intermingled  torrent 
of  grief  and  indignation,  that  I  could  not  articulate  anoth- 
er line  for  some  time." 

He  then  describes  the  emotion  which  affected  him  on 
reading  other  passages  in  the  poem,  and  adds,  — 

''  Tliougli  I\Irs.  Moore  and  my  daugliter  were  greatly 
affected,  yet  tliey  were  astonislied  at  my  agitation,  be- 
cause,   notwithstanding  my   sensibility   to   the   power  of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  175 

poetry,  age  has  rendered  me  less  liable  to  the  melting 
mood  than  formerly  ;  and  I  write  this  to  thank  you  for 
restoring  me,  in  this  instance,  to  my  youthful  emotions." 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1799  Mr.  Roscoe  was 
called  upon  to  prepare  for  the  press  a  new  edition  of  his 
"  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,"  in  which  he  availed  him- 
self of  the  numerous  remarks,  and  the  valuable  infoima- 
tion  furnished  to  him,  as  it  has  been  already  stated,  by 
Dr.  Parr,  to  whom  previously  to  the  publication  of  the 
new  edition  he  addressed  the  followins;  letter :  — 

"  Having  now  been  called  upon  by  Messrs.  Cadell 
and  Davies  for  a  corrected  copy  of  the  '  Life  of  Lo- 
renzo de'  Medici,'  which  I  promised  to  prepare  for  the 
octavo  edition,  I  have  again  gone  over  all  the  remarks 
with  which  you  so  obligingly  furnished  me  some  time 
since,  and  have  finally  incorporated  your  emendations 
into  my  work.  At  the  same  time  I  have  made  minutes 
of  these  alterations  in  the  text  corresponding  to  your 
remarks,  in  which  I  have  at  times  stated  the  manner  in 
which  such  alterations  have  been  made  ;  and  in  the  very 
few  cases  in  which  I  have  not  strictly  complied  with  your 
suggestions,  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  my  reasons  for 
such  variation.  These  minutes  I  have  not  extended 
through  the  Latin  corrections,  because  they  have  been 
adopted  without  a  simgle  exception,  and  in  all  cases  with 
evident  improvement  to  the  sense.  I  now  send  you 
the  minutes  accompanied  with  such  additional  notes  as  I 
have  found  necessary,  in  consequence  of  the  documents 
with  which  you  have  furnished  me.  The  former  will  at 
least  show,  that  I  have  not  been  insensible  of  the  value 
of  any  remark  with  which  you  have  honoured  my  work; 
the  latter,  as  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  acknowledging 
to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  them,  I  think  it  indispensibly 
necessary  you  should  see,  not  only  as  they  will  serve  to 


176  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

show  wliat  conclusions  I  have  been  induced  to  make 
from  them,  but  that  my  ignorance  or  carelessness  may 
not  attach  any  blemish  to  a  character  to  which  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  add  the  slightest  celebrity. 

"  When  I  consider  the  immense  trouble  which  you 
have  taken  on  my  behalf,  and  the  kind  and  friendly 
manner  in  which  you  communicated  your  remarks,  I 
feel  a  sense  of  obligation  which  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
express,  but  which  I  am  sure  I  shall  retain  unimpaired  as 
long  as  I  live. 

*'  With  the  octavo  edition,  I  am  under  the  necessity 
of  giving  a  translation  of  the  Italian  poems  of  '  Lorenzo 
de'  Medici.'  Of  the  success  of  this  attempt  I  have 
great  doubts  ;  but  I  have  engaged  myself  in  the  under- 
taking, and,  indeed,  made  some  progress  in  it.  I  before 
hinted  to  you  some  of  my  objections  to  this  measure, 
and  received  your  very  judicious  opinion  with  the 
respect  it  always  deserves.  I  now  send  you  a  few 
specimens,  from  which  you  will  be  better  enabled  to  say 
what  you  think  of  this  business.  My  principal  difficulty 
is,  as  to  the  poem  called  '  The  Seven  Delights  of  Love  ;' 
the  conclusion  of  which  is  greatly  altered  from  the 
original,  —  but  I  know  not  whether  affected  modesty 
be  not  worse  than  open  indecency. 

"  I  hope  you  will  think  the  '  Oraisia '  of  Lorenzo 
makes  some  amends  for  the  levity  of  his  other  writings. 
It  appears  to  great  advantage  in  the  original,  whatever 
it  may  do  in  tlie  translation. 

"  And  now  lot  me  thank  you  for  your  last  very  oblig- 
ing and  welcome  letter,  which  arrived  and  cheered  me 
at  a  time  when  1  was  out  of  health,  out  of  spirits,  and 
on  the  point  of  removing,  with  a  large  family,  to  the 
house  1  am  now  in,  about  six  miles  from  Liverpool. 
Yes,  my  dear  sir,  we  nmst  meet ;    and  I  hope  in  the 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  177 

course  of  the  present  summer,  at  this  place,  where,  if 
you  can  compound  for  the  turbulence  of  children  of  all 
sizes,  I  can  promise  you  a  most  hearty  welcome  and 
tolerable  accommodation,  with  the  society  of  a  few 
friendly  neighbours.  Our  friend  John  Pearson  may,  I 
hope,  be  induced  to  accompany  you  into  this  neighbour- 
hood. If  you  take  a  journey  this  summer,  and  have 
not  yet  fixed  your  route,  I  shall  not  be  without  hopes 
that  my  wishes  in  this  respect  stand  some  chance  of 
being  gratified." 


CHAPTER   VII. 


1709  —  1805. 


Mr.  Roscoe  purchases  Allerton  Hall,  and  retires  thither  —  his  pro- 
jected mode  of  life  —  his  studies.  —  Inscription  —  letter  to  Fuse- 
li — Change  in  his  prospects  —  becomes  a  partner  in  the  bank  of 
Messrs.  Clarke  —  letters  to  Dr.  Parr  and  Lord  Lansdovvne  — 
his  studies  suspended  — his  opinions  on  political  affairs  —  letter  to 
Lord  Holland. —  Establishment  of  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Liver- 
pool —  prospectus  of  that  institution  —  address  delivered  previous- 
ly to  the  opening  of  the  garden.  —  Letter  from  Dr.  Rush  of 
Philadelphia.  —  Correspondence  with  Dr.  Smith  —  visit  of  the 
latter  to  Allerton  —  dedication  by  him  of"  Exotic  Botany  "  to  Mr. 
Roscoe.  — Mr.  Roscoe  becomes  a  Fellow  of  the   Linnean  Society. 

—  Fuseli  visits  Allerton  —letter    from  him.  —  Mr.  Mathias  —  his 
Canzone,   addressed  to  Mr.    Roscoe  —  correspondence    with  him. 

—  Dr.  Currie  —  his  friendship  for  Mr.  Roscoe — his  character 
and  death. —  Letter  to  Mr.  Macneil.  —  Death  of  Mr.  Wilham 
Clarke  —  his  character,  and  correspondence  with  Mr.  Roscoe  —  i 
lines  addressed  to  him  at  Lisbon  — letter  on  his  death.  —  Death  of 
Mr.  Fox.  —  Letter  to  Lord  Holland. —  Visit  to  London.  —  Political  j 
affairs.  —  Letters  to  Lord  Holland  and  Dr.  Parr  —  visit  of  the  lat- 
ter to  Allerton.  l 

It  seldom  happens   that  those   who  have   been  long     i 
engaged  in  the  active  duties  of  life  retain  that  taste  for 
retirement  which    is  often   felt    in    youth.      But    it  was 
otherwise  witli  Mr.   Ro.scoe,  who  never  ceased  to  look     i 
forward  with  anxiety  to  the   period  when   he  should  be     i 
enabled  to  retreat,  from  the  harrassing  cares  of  business, 
to  the  trancjuillity  of  the  country,  and  the  peaceful  pleas- 
ures   of    his    literary    occupations.       After    upwards    of 
twenty  years   spent  in  a  laborious  and  distasteful   pro-     ^ 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  179 

fession,  the  object  he  had  so  long  had  at  heart  appeared 
to  be  accomphshed.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  1799, 
he  became  the  purchaser  of  a  moiety  of  the  Allerton 
estate,  a  valuable  property  lymg  about  six  miles  from 
Liverpool.  Allerton  Hall,  which  was  attached  to  that 
portion  of  the  estate  bought  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  was  origi- 
nally erected  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  but  a  part  of  that 
structure  had  been  taken  down  about  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  and  a  handsome  stone  edifice  erected  in  its 
place.  The  house  was  surrounded  by  gardens  disposed 
in  the  old  English  taste,  and  environed  on  every  side  by 
ample  woods.  To  this  pleasant  residence  Mr.  Roscoe 
retired  to  prosecute  at  leisure  his  literary  labours,  and 
to  enjoy  the  more  healthy  employments  which  agricul- 
ture and  botany  afford.  Here  he  hoped,  as  he  expressed 
himself  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Parr,  to  realise  the  admirable 
picture  which  Jortin  has  drawn  of  the  happiness  which 
such  a  life  affords :  — "  An  honest  and  sensible  man  is 
placed  in  a  middle  station,  in  circumstances  rather 
scanty  than  abounding.  He  hath  all  the  necessaries,  but 
none  of  the  superfluities,  of  life ;  and  these  necessaries 
he  acquires  by  his  prudence,  his  studies,  and  his  indus- 
try. If  he  seeks  to  better  his  income,  it  is  by  such 
methods  as  hurt  neither  his  conscience  nor  his  constitution. 
He  hath  friends  and  acquaintances  of  his  own  rank.  He 
receives  good  offices  from  them,  and  he  returns  the  same. 
As  he  hath  his  occupations,  he  hath  his  diversions  also ; 
and  partakes  of  the  simple,  frugal,  obvious,  innocent, 
and  cheerful  amusements  of  life."  His  chief  literary 
employment  at  this  period  was  the  Life  of  Leo  X.,  in 
which  his  leisure  permitted  him  to  make  considerable 
progress.  He  also  resumed  the  study  of  the  Greek 
language ;  and,  from  a  note  prefixed  by  him  to  the 
Glasgow  edition  of  Homer,  it  appears  that  the  Odyssey 


180  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

had  been  this  year  the  subject  of  his  study.  Tlie 
charms  of  the  country  hkewise  revived  his  taste  for 
poetry,  and  the  fohowing  Inscription,  which  bears  the 
date  of  1800,  was  probably  intended  for  one  of  the 
pleasant  alcoves,  with  which  the  old  gardens  of  Allerton 
were  embellished.  . 

"  INSCRIPTION. 

1800. 

"  Whoe'er  thou  art  whom  chance  or  choice  may  lead 
To  share  this  rustic  seat,  this  friendly  shade, 
The  healthful  gales  from  wild-flowers  fresh  that  blow, 
And  all  the  extended  prospect  spread  below ; 
If  nature's  simple  chamis  attract  thy  mind, 
If  glows  thy  breast  with  love  of  humankind. 
All  these  be  thine.     For  whether  on  thine  eyes 
Green  woods,  bright  streams,  or  peopled  hamlets  rise, 
Thy  soflen'd  bosom  then  not  only  proves 
A  sympathy  with  all  that  lives  and  moves^ 
But  (while  the  varied  scene  around  thee  glows) 
With  all  that  blooms,  that  murmurs,  or  that  Jlou'S^ 

The  benefit  to  his  health  which  he  found  in  his 
change  of  residence  and  his  country  occupations  is 
referred  to  in  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  written  in 
tlie  summer  of  1799,  to  Mr.  Fuseli :  — 

"  I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  of  informing  you, 
without  being  questioned  on  that  subject,  that  I  am  yet 
in  existence,  and,  what  I  know  you  will  be  glad  to  hear, 
in  better  spirits  than  when  I  last  wrote  to  you.  From 
the  experience  I  have  hitherto  had  of  my  new  residence, 
it  promises  to  be  productive  of  every  advantage  which  I 
expected  to  find  from  it:  —  good  air,  op])ortunity,  or 
rather  necessity,  of  exercise,  and  a  degree  of  retirement 
which  is  indispensably  necessary  to  my  peace  of  mhid. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  181 

The  latter  you  will,  perhaps,  believe,  when  I  tell  you 
that  I  am  a  mile  and  a  half  from  any  neighbour,  but,  at 
that  distance  I  have  on  every  side  of  me  some  of  my 
most  intimate  and  valuable  friends.  Such  being  the  ad- 
vantages I  enjoy  here,  you  will  not  wonder  that  I  am 
exerting  myself  to  secure  the  means  of  remaining  here, 
without  the  necessity  of  further  interference  in  the  tumult 
of  the  town,  which  I  hope  in  a  short  time  I  shall  be 
able  to  do.  I  consider  it  as  one  great  secret  in  the  art 
of  living,  especially  at  a  time  when  all  the  necessaries  of 
life  are  so  high,  to  obtain  subsistence  immediately  from 
the  earth  ;  and  accordingly  I  am  surrounded  with  cows, 
hogs,  turkeys,  geese,  cocks,  hens,  and  pigeons ;  which, 
according  to  the  good  old  maxim,  ("  Take,  Peter,  kill 
and  eat,")  I  plunder  and  slaughter  without  mercy ;  and 
shall  be  very  angry  with  you  if  you  tell  me  (as  is  not 
unlikely)  that  I  am  keeping  up  my  paltry  existence  at 
the  expense  of  the  lives  of  a  number  of  beings,  each  of 
which  is  ten  times  happier  than  myself." 

The  tranquil  enjoyments  of  the  country,  however, 
were  not  destined  to  be  long  his  portion.  In  less  than 
twelve  months  after  removing  his  residence  to  Allerton 
he  became  deeply  involved  in  the  laborious  anxieties  of 
commercial  life.  The  family  of  Mr.  William  Clarke, 
whose  friendship  and  literary  assistance,  in  procuring 
materials  for  the  "  Life  of  Lorenzo,"  have  already  been 
mentioned,  had  been  long  engaged  in  an  extensive 
banking-house  in  Liverpool,  the  affairs  of  which,  owing 
to  various  circumstances,  were,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
year  1799,  found  to  be  in  a  position  of  considerable 
difficulty.  The  aid  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  as  a  confidential 
adviser,  was  requested  by  the  partners,  and  he  did 
not  hesitate  to  lend  his  best  assistance.  Chiefly 
through   his  instrumentality,   the    difficulties  which  ex- 

VOL.  1.  16 


182  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

isted  between  the  Liverpool  bank  and  their  London 
correspondents  were  removed,  and  it  was  the  anxious 
wish  of  the  latter,  as  well  as  the  former,  that  Mr.  Roscoe 
should  render  his  labours  complete,  by  becoming  an  ac- 
tive partner  in  the  banking-house  at  Liverpool.  The 
sacrifice  which  this  change  required  was  undoubtedly 
great.  It  compelled  him  to  resign  a  mode  of  life  which 
had  long  been  the  cherished  object  of  his  wishes ;  to 
forego,  at  Jill  events  for  a  time,  those  literary  pursuits 
upon  which  his  mind  was  so  ardently  bent ;  and  to  plunge 
into  an  untried  and  hazardous  occupation.  The  motives 
which  led  hhn  to  take  the  part  he  did,  are  explained 
in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  by  him, 
in  the  spring  of  1800,  to  Dr.  Parr.  After  stating  how 
happy  he  had  felt  in  his  country  retirement,  he  says, 
"  The  step  I  took  was  not  a  matter  of  choice  and  inclina- 
tion, but  of  imperious  necessity.  No  sooner  did  it  offer 
itself  to  me,  than  my  determination  was  fixed.  It  was 
not  my  gratification,  my  pursuits,  or  even  my  interest, 
upon  which  the  question  arose.  It  was  the  irresistible 
claim  of  friendship,  the  right  which  society  at  large  has 
upon  the  exertions  of  every  individual,  when  he  con- 
ceives he  can  be  useful,  that  determined  my  purpose. 
I  felt  that  my  non-compliance  would  have  embittered  my 
future  life.  But  tliougli  I  have  thus  heartily  devoted 
myself  to  my  new  undertaking,  it  need  not  surely  follow 
that  I  have  lost  my  individuality,  and  am  become  a  new 
being.  From  the  wreck  of  my  former  life  and  pursuits 
can  nothing  be  saved  ?  Must  I  for  ever  hereafter  open 
no  books  but  journals  and  ledgers,  and  breathe  no  air 
but  that  of  the  town  ?  Happily  for  me,  this  is  by  no 
means  the  case;  and  though,  from  the  peculiar  state  of 
the  l)usiness  when  I  engaged  in  it,  it  has  hitherto  re- 
quired my  unremitting  attention,  yet  I  already  perceive 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  183 

the  probability  that,  at  no  great  distance  of  time,  I  may 
again  enjoy  some  portion  of  those  pleasures  to  which  I 
supposed  I  had  bade  a  last  farewell.  The  daily  routine 
of  my  engagements  does  not  appear  so  irksome  as  I  had 
reason  to  expect.  I  have  the  advantage  of  kind  col- 
leagues and  able  assistants.  My  province,  to  say  the 
truth,  has  already  become  rather  that  of  superintendence 
and  direction  than  of  labour  and  detail.  I  still  can  re- 
tain with  ease  and  satisfaction  my  country  residence  ;  my 
daily  exercise  is  conducive  to  my  health ;  my  evenings, 
and  occasionally  a  larger  portion  of  time,  will  soon  be 
spent  with  my  family :  and,  upon  the  whole,  what  I 
have  sacrificed  appears  to  me  to  be  much  less  than  what 
I  at  first  expected." 

In  a  letter  to  Lord  Lansdowne,  written  about  the  same 
time,  Mr.  Roscoe  thus  mentions  the  alteration  in  his 
prospects :  —  /  . 

"  My  own  occupations  and  pursuits  have,  in  the  course 
of  the  last  winter,  undergone  a  total  change ;  and  from 
the  situation  of  a  recluse  in  a  lonely  residence  six  miles 
from  Liverpool,  I  have  again  entered  into  the  world, 
and  taken  an  active  part  in  the  banking-house  of  my 
friends  Clarkes,  the  conduct  of  which  has  devolved 
chiefly  on  myself.  This  measure  was  so  sudden  and 
unexpected,  that  I  had  scarcely  time  to  analyse  the  mo- 
tives of  my  conduct,  before  I  was  called  on  to  decide ; 
but  it  was  rather  the  impossibility  of  refusing,  than  the 
desire  of  accepting,  that  determined  what  part  I  should 
take.  The  situation  of  the  concern,  at  the  time  I  entered 
into  it,  was  such  as  to  require  the  whole  of  my  attention, 
which  has  been  exclusively  devoted  to  it  for  the  last  six 
months ;  but  I  have  every  reason  to  flatter  myself  that, 
in  a  very  short  time,  so  close  an  attendance  may  be 
unnecessary,  and  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  devote  some 
portion  of  my  time  to  other  pursuits." 


184  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

For  a  short  period,  the  pressing  engagements  of  his 
new  situation  put  ahnost  a  complete  stop  to  his  hterary 
labours.  "  The  new  occupations  in  which  I  am  engaged,'* 
he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker,  "  have  hitherto 
prevented  me  from  bestowing  the  least  attention  on  my 
studies.  '  Leo'  is  perfectly  at  rest,  and  I  begin  to 
doubt  whether  I  shall  ever  rouse  him  from  his  slumbers." 
It  was  not  until  the  close  of  the  year  1800,  that  he  re- 
sumed his  pen,  when,  as  the  winter  approached,  he 
dc\oted  the  lono-  evenin(i;s,  after  his  return  from  Liver- 
pool,  which  he  visited  daily,  to  the  prosecution  of  his 
biographical  task.  His  interest  in  these  labours  was 
about  this  time  revived,  by  the  acquisition  of  some  valu- 
able manuscript  materials  from  Florence,  for  which  he 
was  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Lord  Holland,  and  the 
care  of  INIr.  Penrose,  chaplain  to  the  British  Embassy  at 
the  Court  of  Tuscany. 

The  sentiments  of  Mr.  Roscoe  on  the  state  of  political 
affairs  at  this  time  are  developed  in  the  following  letter 
to  Lord  Holland,  dated  October  26,  1800.  After  ad- 
verting to  the  question  of  peace,  he  says  — 

"  As  I  have  been  led  to  mention  this  subject,  I  will 
further  venture  to  add,  that,  of  all  the  opportunities 
which  have  hitherto  occurred,  of  opening  the  eyes  of 
the  people  to  their  true  situation,  the  present  seems  to 
me  the  most  favourable  ;  and  that,  if  any  thing  could 
induce  the  great  and  enlightened  statesman,  to  whom 
you  stand  so  nearly  related,  once  more  to  exert  his 
talents  in  the  service  of  his  country,  this  must  be  the 
time.  The  avowed  object  of  the  deliberations  of  parlia- 
ment is  to  examine  into  the  cause  of  the  present  distress. 
The  nation  at  large  are  anxious  for  the  result.  An 
opportunity  for  negotiation  is  held  out  by  our  enemies. 
We  are  threatened  with  a  hostile  combination  from  the 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  185 

North ;  which,  whatever  may  be  its  other  consequences, 
will  inevitably  flirther  abridge  our  resources.  In  this 
situation,  every  exertion  will  be  made  by  the  promoters 
of  the  war,  to  elude  the  knowledge  of  the  real  origin  of 
the  evil.  The  blame  will  be  laid  upon  earth  and  upon 
heaven  ;  upon  any  thing  but  that  which  they  well  know 
to  be  the  effective  cause. 

"  In  the  Upper  House,  your  Lordsliip  will,  I  hope, 
confute  their  destructive  notions,  with  that  clearness  of 
argument  and  dignified  freedom  of  speech,  which  have 
always  characterised  your  exertions  in  the  public  ser- 
vice. The  sentiments  of  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  at 
such  a  time  and  on  such  an  occasion,  would  produce  an 
inconceivable  effect ;  but,  in  the  other  House,  who  is 
there  that  can  place  this  great  truth  in  so  luminous  a 
point  of  view  —  who  can  enforce  it  with  so  much  energy, 
with  so  much  sincerity,  with  so  mucj^  eloquence,  as 
Mr.  Fox  ? 

"  From  the  time  that  the  minister  attempted  to  starve 
the  people  of  France,  England  may  date  the  commence- 
ment of  its  present  distress.  The  immense  purchases 
of  grain  made  by  government,  at  exorbitant  prices,  over- 
turned the  mercantile  system  of  that  traffic,  and,  by 
disgusting  the  regular  men  of  capital,  threw  the  trade 
into  other  channels.  Since  that  period,  the  constant  in- 
terference of  government  and  its  agents  in  the  purchase 
of  every  article  of  food,  for  an  immense  military  and 
naval  establishment,  has  been  a  constant  and  enormous 
drain  upon  both  the  living  and  dead  stock  of  the  coun- 
try ;  and  as  government,  in  fact,  never  pay  for  what  they 
consume,  or  in  other  words,  are  paid  back  by  the  people, 
it  matters  not  to  them  at  what  price  it  is  purchased. 
Nay,  the  agents  of  government  enrich  themselves  ;  whilst 

16* 


186  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

the   middle   and   lower   classes   of  the   community   are 
pinlnii;  under  deprivations,  or  perishing  in  want. 

*'  Faintly  as  I  have  heen  able  to  state  my  reasons,  I 
flatter  myself  your  Lordship  will  agree  with  me,  that  the 
0})portunity  is  not  only  favourable,  but  the  only  one 
Hkely  to  be  afforded  for  producing  an  important  and 
beneficial  effect ;  and  that  even  the  abihties  of  Mr.  Fox 
could  not  have  a  greater  subject  for  their  exertion.  His 
comprehensive  mind  will  see .  how  the  war  connects  itself 
with  our  distresses  at  every  point,  and  in  every  quarter ; 
and  should  his  endeavours  ha})pily  be  united  with  those 
of  the  friends  of  peace  in  both  Houses,  we  may  not  yet 
despair  of  seeing  a  powerful  and  decided  impression  made 
upon  the  public  mind. 

"  I  know  not  what  apology  I  can  make  for  the  free- 
dom I  have  taken  in  thus  expressing  my  sentiments  on 
so  momentous  a  subject,  unless  I  may  be  allowed  to 
plead  the  interest  which  I  feel,  in  common  with  your 
Lordship,  in  the  honour  and  prosperity  of  the  country ; 
and  the  desire  of  seeing  it  rescued  from  the  grasp  of 
those,  who  are  not  less  hostile  to  the  real  happiness  of 
this  nation  than  they  are  to  that  of  the  human  race." 

As  the  calls  of  business  became  fewer  and  less  importu- 
nate, Mr.  Roscoe  was  able  to  devote  a  larger  portion  of 
his  time  to  other  pursuits ;  amongst  which  the  science  of 
botany  occupied  some  share  of  his  attention.  This  study, 
and  more  particularly  that  branch  of  it  which  relates  to 
English  botany,  had,  from  a  very  early  period,  been  one 
of  the  favourite  em})loyments  of  his  leisure  hours.  It 
was,  therefore,  with  nuich  satisfaction,  that  he  perceived 
an  inclination  amongst  several  of  his  townsmen  to  en- 
courage the  establishment  of  a  Botanic  Garden  near 
Liverpool  ;  and,  in  conjunction  with  his  friends.  Dr. 
Kuticr   and    Dr.   Bostock,   he    prepared   the    following 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  187 

prospectus,  In  which  the  advantages  of  such  an  institution 
are  pointed  out :  — 

''  The  prevaihng  taste  for  botanical  studies,  and  the 
liberahty  displayed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Liverpool  in 
the  encouragement  of  scientic  pursuits,  afford  sufficient 
reason  to  conclude,  that  the  establishment  of  a  botanical 
garden  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town  is  at  present  a 
desirable  and  attainable  object.  To  enlarge  upon  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  botanical  knowledge  is 
not  the  object  of  this  address.  It  is  presumed,  that  its 
application  to  agriculture,  gardening,  medicine,  and  other 
arts,  essential  to  the  comfort  and  even  support  of  life,  is 
generally  acknowledged.  The  claims  which  it  has  to 
our  attention,  when  considered  merely  as  an  elegant 
amusement,  ought  not  to  be  neglected  —  an  amusement 
calculated  to  interest  the  understanding,  whilst  it  promotes 
the  health  and  vigour  of  the  bodily  frame.  Even  the 
cultivation  of  the  fine  arts,  however  alluring  in  its  pro- 
gress, and  dignified  in  its  object,  must  yield  the  supe- 
riority to  the  study  of  nature ;  for  who  will  venture  to 
compare  the  most  finished  productions  of  the  painter  and 
the  sculptor,  with  the  originals,  whence  they  derived 
their  ideas  of  beauty  and  proportion  ? 

"  It  is,  however,  necessary  to  the  progress  of  this 
science,  that  the  student  should  be  supplied  with  actual 
and  living  specimens.  The  imperfection  of  language  to 
give  an  adequate  idea  of  any  vegetable  production,  must 
be  generally  admitted ;  and  the  most  beautiful  and  ac- 
curate drawings  fall  infinitely  short  of  that  dehcacy  and 
minuteness  of  parts,  on  which  its  scientific  distinctions 
essentially  depend.  Even  the  plants  themselves,  when 
collected  and  attempted  to  be  preserved,  are  deprived 
of  so  many  peculiarities  incident  to  their  habit  and 
growth,  that  it  is  only  from  living  plants  that  we  can 


188  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

flatter  ourselves  witli  the  hope  of  obtaining  those  sub- 
stantial distinctions  which  are  necessary  to  discriminate 
those  numerous  productions,  or  of  extending  the  limits  of 
the  science  itself. 

"  Without  public  institutions  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
serving such  plants  as  are  imported  into  the  country, 
and  in  the  acquisition  of  which  so  many  men  of  great 
learning  and  talents  have  devoted  themselves  to  long 
and  dangerous  voyages  and  expeditions,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  considerable  numbers  will  soon  be 
lost  to  us.  The  great  repositories  are  at  present  those 
of  the  nurserymen  in  the  vicinity  of  London ;  but,  when 
profit  is  the  chief  object,  it  is  to  be  feared  those  plants 
alone  will  be  propagated  which  will  best  repay  the  at- 
tention of  the  cultivator.  Many  scientific  and  opulent 
individuals,  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  have  con- 
tributed not  only  to  establish  this  study  by  their  wealth, 
but  to  extend  it  by  their  talents ;  yet  the  taste  of  an  in- 
dividual may  be  supposed  to  attach  to  some  favourite 
class  of  productions ;  and,  at  all  events,  a  private  collec- 
tion cannot  be  expected,  either  in  copiousness  or  per- 
manency, to  contend  with  a  public  institution,  which  is 
calculated  to  comprehend  every  known  vegetable  pro- 
duction, and  to  preserve  them  for  a  continued  series  of 
years,  which,  in  many  instances,  is  indispensably  neces- 
sary to  their  perfection. 

^'  Of  tlie  expense  and  attention  bestowed  by  many 
respectable  individuals  in  supporting  a  pleasure-garden, 
the  environs  of  the  town  afford  numerous  instances ; 
what,  then,  must  be  the  advantages  of  a  garden  properly 
laid  out,  and  supplied  with  every  beautiful  production  of 
vegetable  nature  which  tliis  kingdom  affords,  yet  enjoyed 
at  the  small  expense  of  an  annual  subscription  ?  Even 
this  subscription  will,  it  is  probable^  be  xnoie  than  repaid. 


^LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  189 

hy  the  privileges  to  which  it  is  intended  the  subscribers 
shall  be  entitled,  in  having  such  plants  or  seeds  divided 
among  them  as  may  be  the  increase  of  the  garden,  and 
can  be  occasionally  spared  without  impoverishing  the  col- 
lection. To  those  who  are  already  engaged  in  making 
a  selection  of  plants,  this  institution  will  afford  constant 
assistance,  and  may  frequently  preclude  the  necessity 
of  obtaining  them  from  a  distance,  at  great  expense  and 
risk." 

The  call  thus  made  upon  the  liberality  and  public 
spirit  of  the  inhabitants  of  Liverpool  was  speedily  and 
satisfactorily  answered ;  and  a  sufficient  sum  of  money 
being  subscribed,  a  piece  of  ground  was  presented,  by 
the  Corporation  of  Liverpool,  for  the  purposes  of  the 
institution,  and  the  garden  was  opened  in  the  summer 
of  1802.  A  meeting  of  the  proprietors  being  called 
previously  to  the  opening,  it  was  suggested  to  Mr.  Roscoe, 
who  then  filled  the  office  of  vice-president,  and  whose 
duty  it  was,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  the  president, 
Richard  Walker,  Esq.,  to  preside  at  the  meeting,  that  it 
would  be  desirable  that  an  address  should  be  delivered 
on  the  occasion.  Although  two  or  three  days  only  in- 
tervened before  the  meeting,  he  assented  to  this  request ; 
and  upon  the  day  of  the  meeting  he  read  before  the 
proprietors  an  address,  displaying  the  pleasures  and  ad- 
vantages of  botanical  science.  After  vindicating  the 
study  of  botany  from  the  charge  of  being  a  trifling  em- 
ployment, and  a  mere  nomenclature  tending  to  burden 
the  memory  with  a  list  of  names,  he  thus  states  what  may 
be  termed  the  moral  advantages  of  the  science  :  — ■ 

"  Nor  are  the  advantages  incidentally  derived  from 
these  employments  of  slight  account.  Whoever  has 
opened  his  mind  to  comprehend  the  extensive  system 
of  the   vegetable   kingdom,  as  arranged  by  that  great 


190  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

father  of  the   science,  the  immortal  Linnaeus,  and  has 
traced  it  through  its  various  connections   and  relations, 
either  descending  from  generals  to  particulars,  or  ascend-  | 
ing  by  a  gradual  progress    from   individuals   to  classes,  ' 
till  it  embraces  the  whole  vegetable  world,  will,  by  the  | 
mere  exercise  of  the  faculties  employed  for  this  purpose, 
acquire  a  habit  of  arrangement,   a    perception  of  order,  j 
of  distinction,  and  subordination,  which  it  is  not,  perhaps,  1 
in  the  nature  of  any  other  study  so  effectually  to  bestow. 
In  this  view  the  examination  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  j 
seems  peculiarly  proper  for  youth,  to  whose  unperverted  ■ 
minds  the  study  of  natural   objects  is  always  an  inter-  i 
esting    occupation,  and    who   will   not   only  find  in  this 
employment    an   innocent  and  a  healthful    amusement,  | 
but  will  familiarise  themselves  to  that  regulated  train  of  j 
ideas,  that  perception  of  relation  between  parts  and  the  ] 
whole,  which  is  of  use  not  only  in  every  other  department  | 
of  natural    knowledge,   but  in   all  the   concerns  of  life.  \ 
Independently,  too,  of  the  habits  of  order  and  arrange-  | 
ment  which  will  thus  be  established,  it  may  be  justly  i 
observed,  that  the  bodily  senses  are  highly  improved  by 
that  accuracy  and   observation  whicli   are  necessary  to  , 
discriminate  the  various  objects  that  pass  in  review  before 
them.     This  improvement  may  be  carried  to  a  degree  i 
of  which  those   who  are  inattentive  to  it  have  no  idea.  ; 
The  sight  of  Linnaeas  was  so  penetrating,  that  he  is  said  I 
never  to  have  used  a  glass,  even    in    his  minutest   en-  . 
quiries.     But  our  own  neighbourhood  affords  a  striking 
instance   of  an   individual  *,  who,   although    wholly   de- 
prived of  sight,  has  improved  his  otlier  senses,  his  touch,  j 
his  smell,  and  his  taste,  to  such  a  degree  as  to  distinguish  ' 
all  tlie  native  plants  of  this  country  with  an  accuracy 


*  Mr.  Gough  of  Kendal. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  191 

not  attained  by  many  of  those  who  have  the  advantages 
of  sight,  and  which  justly  entitles  him  to  rank  with  the 
first  botanists  in  the  kingdom." 

The  museum  of  Dr.  Forster  of  Halle,  mentioned  in 
the  following  passage,  had  been  purchased  by  Mr.  Ros- 
coe  for  his  own  private  collection,  but  was  transferred 
by  him  to  the  Botanic  Garden. 

"  In  addition  to  these  objects,  it  is  also  thought  expe- 
dient that  a  library  of  works  in  natural  history,  and  a 
collection  of  specimens  of  dried  plants,  should  be  formed 
with  all  possible  expedition,  as  appendages  to  the  insti- 
tution. The  foundation  of  the  latter  is  laid  by  the  pur- 
chase of  the  museum  of  the  late  Dr.  Forster,  which  has 
been  brought  from  Halle,  in  Germany,  and  is  now  un- 
der the  care  of  our  manager. 

"  This  collection  comprises  many  thousand  specimens 
collected  by  the  Doctor  and  his  son,  in  tlie  South  Sea 
islands  and  other  parts,  and  large  contributions  of  plants 
from  those  illustrious  botanists,  Linnaeus,  Thunberg,  and 
Jacquin,  with  whom  Dr.  Forster  was  in  correspondence. 

"  To  these  we  have  no  doubt  of  making  considerable 
additions,  from  the  liberality  of  several  eminent  men^ 
who  have  already  kindly  expressed  their  intentions  in 
this  respect ;  among  whom  I  may  venture  to  mention 
Dr.  Wright,  President  of  the  College  of  Physicians  at 
Edinburgh,  who  is  now  obligingly  preparing  to  send  us 
specimens  of  the  plants  which  he  has  himself  collected 
in  foreign  countries,  or  which  have  been  transmitted  to 
him  by  his  learned  correspondents  from  different  parts 
of  the  world." 

A  copy  of  the  address  having  been  presented  by  the 
author  to  Dr.  Rush  of  Philadelphia  *,  he  received  from 

*  In  the  year  1812  Dr.  Rush  transmitted  to  Mr.  Roscoe  a  piece  of 
the  tree  under  which  William  Penn  signed  his  treaty  with  the  In- 


192  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

that  eminent  and  excellent  man  the  followhig  communi- 
cation in  reply  :  — 

'^  Dr.  Rush  requests  ]\Ir.  Roscoe  to  accept  of  his 
thanks  for  his  elegant  oration  delivered  hefore  tlie  pro- 
prietors of  the  Botanic  Garden  in  Liverpool.  It  could 
not  have  been  sent  to  any  person  who  more  highly  ap- 
preciates INIr.  Roscoe's  character  and  writings.  His 
history  of  '  Lorenzo '  has  been  read  with  great  dehght 
by  several  members  of  Dr.  Rush's  family,  as  well  as  by 
himself;  and  Mr.  Roscoe's  charming  little  poem,  styled 
*  Tlie  Nurse,'  formed,  a  few^  montlis  ago,  a  present  to 
one  of  the  Doctor's  female  patients,  to  wdiom  he  washed 
to  show  a  durable  mark  of  his  friendship  and  respect." 

The  establishment  of  the  Botanic  Garden  led  to  a 
correspondence  with  the  celebrated  Dr.  J.  E.  Smith, 
which  afterwards  ripened  into  a  warm  and  lasting  friend- 
ship. In  the  year  1803  Dr.  Smith  paid  a  visit  to  Aller- 
ton,  and  the  botanical  pursuits  of  his  friend  received  an 
impulse  from  his  society.     The  gratification  which  this 


dians.  This  was  converted  into  an  inkstand,  and  forms  the  subject 
of  a  small  poem  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  which  has  been  several  times 
printed.  The  friendliness  of  the  sentiments  entertained  by  Dr. 
Rush  for  Mr.  Roscoe  may  be  learned  by  the  following  extract  from 
a  letter  from  a  gentleman  to  whom  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  the  year  1810, 
had  given  an  introduction  to  Dr.  Rush:  — "  With  the  conversation 
and  society  of  Dr.  Rush  I  have  been  gratified  and  delighted  far  be- 
yond m}'  powers  of  expression,  and  shall  ever  consider  my  acquain- 
tance with  him  as  the  greatest  obligation  your  kindness  has  con- 
ferred. Rlended  with  an  appearance  that  universally  inspires  both 
veneration  and  esteem,  he  possesses  the  most  fascinating  suavity  of 
manners,  and  powers  of  conversation,  wliich  (in  a  greater  degree 
than  I  ever  before  witnessed  or  even  could  conceive)  unite  intelli- 
gence and  wisdom  with  the  most  pleasing  and  unassuming  address. 
•  If  you  go  to  England,'  said  the  good  old  man,  '  tell  Mr.  Roscoe 
that  I  lovo  him  like  a  brother,  and  tiiat  a  perfect  accordance  of  sen- 
timent and  fcu'ling  supplies  what  our  distant  situations  are  so  calcu- 
lated to  destroy.'  " 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  193 

visit  afforded  Mr.  Roscoe  is  strongly  expressed  in  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to  Dr.  Smith, 
immediately  after  his  return  to  Norwich  ;  and  it  is  pleas- 
ing to  reflect  that  the  feelings  of  warm  attachment,  which 
breathe  through  this  letter,  remained  unimpaired  to  the 
conclusion  oP  his  friend's  life  :  — ■ 

"  Amidst  our  frequent  recollections  of  you  at  Allerton, 
we  had  begun  to  feel  some  anxiety  on  your  account, 
which  would  by  no  means  have  been  diminished,  had 
we  known  that  you  and  your  companion  were  careering 
over  the  hills  of  Derbyshire  on  the  top  of  a  coach. 
Your  letter  has  arrived  just  in  time  to  alleviate  our  ap- 
prehensions, and  to  add  to  the  cheerfulness  of  our  Sun- 
day's dinner,  where  you  have  as  many  friends  as  we 
number  individuals.  In  rejoicing  with  you,  as  I  most 
truly  do,  on  your  restoration  to  domestic  happiness,  I 
feel,  however,  a  selfish  hope  that  you  may  be  encouraged 
at  no  distant  period  to  pay  another  visit  to  Liverpool, 
and  that  you  will  prevail  on  Mrs.  Smith  to  accompany 
you.  I  had  almost  begun  to  suspect  that  the  cares  of 
the  world  or  the  lapse  of  years  had  blunted  in  me  those 
feelings,  and  diminished  that  capacity  of  attachment, 
which,  in  youth,  are  so  ardently  experienced ;  but  the 
fortunate  incident  which  introduced  me  to  your  acquaint- 
ance has  restored  me  to  a  better  opinion  of  myself,  and, 
however  I  may  regret  that  we  did  not  meet  sooner,  I 
gratify  myself  in  regarding  you  as  a  friend  of  my  early 
days,  but  lately  found,  if  indeed  I  can  be  said  lately  to 
have  found  one  whom  I  have  known  so  long  in  his 
writings,  and  to  whom  I  have  been  indebted  for  much 
pleasure,  and,  I  hope,  some  improvement." 

The  pleasure  w^hich  Dr.  Smith  derived  from  this  visit 
is  expressed  in  a  very   lively  manner  in  the  following 

VOL.   I.  17 


194  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

letter  to  his  friend  Mr.  Dawson  Turner,  dated  from 
Allerton  * :  — 

*'  At  length  I  sit  down  to  \vrite  you  a  letter —  literally, 
but  not,  I  fear,  metaphorically ^  with  the  pen  of  a  Roscoe 
—  that  very  pen  which  has  just  been  correcting  his  man- 
uscript '  Life  of  Leo  X.' 

"  I  am  here  at  his  charming  villa,  six  miles  from 
Liverpool,  looking  over  Cheshire  and  the  Mersey  to 
tlie  Welsh  hills. 

*^r,  ^L,  ^m  ^ 

■7T*  T\*  •«"  "rt* 

"  My  lectures  are  numerously  and  brilliantly  attended, 
and  seem  to  stir  up  a  great  ardour  and  taste  for  botany. 
The  Botanic  Garden  promises  well,  though  in  its  infancy, 
except  the  Stove,  which  is  well  filled  and  in  the  first 
order.  The  curator,  Mr.  Shepherd,  is  the  properest  man 
I  ever  saw  for  the  purpose.  I  hope  to  procure  him 
some  useful  correspondents,  one  of  which  shall  be  our 
friend  Watts  of  Ashill. 

"  You  are  acquainted  with  Mr.  Roscoe's  taste  and 
genius,  —  his  manners,  temper,  and  character  are  equal 
to  them.  I  am  surprised  to  find  him  so  good  a  practical 
botanist.  His  library  is  rich  in  botany,  and  especially  in 
Italian  history  and  poetry.  I  fancy  myself  at  Lorenzo's 
own  villa." 

The  beautiful  work  of  '^  Exotic  Botany,"  published 
by  Dr.  Sniiili  in  the  year  1804,  was  inscribed  to  Mr. 
Roscoe,  in  the  following  elegant  and  affectionate  ad- 
dress :  — 

*'  Dear  Sir, 

"  When,  in  your  delightful  retirement  at  Allerton,  I 
felt  transported  to  the  villa  of  your  own  ^  Lorenzo,'  I 

*  Life  of  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  vol.  ii.  p.  302. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  195 

was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  how  large  a  portion  of 
your  attention  scientific  botany  had  shared,  amid  your 
ardent  devotion  to  the  historic  Muse.  Let  this  remind 
you  of  that  time,  so  grateful  to  my  recollection,  and 
which,  if  I  may  judge  by  subsequent  transactions,  you 
do  not  wish  to  forget.  Long  had  I  been  anxious  to 
know  the  historian  of  the  *  Medici ; '  but  I  now  wish  far 
more  to  cultivate  and  preserve  the  regard  of  a  Roscoe. 
Allow  me  to  subscribe  myself, 

^'  Dear  Sir, 

"  Your  obliged  and  affectionate  friend, 

"  J.  E.  Smith." 

The  gratifying  honour  thus  conferred  upon  him  Mr. 
Roscoe  acknowledged  in  the  following  letter:  — 

"  It  was  not  till  late  last  night  that  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  receiving,  through  the  hands  of  my  booksellers,  the 
first  number  of  '  Exotic  Botany,'  and  of  perusing  the 
affectionate,  and  to  me  highly  gratifying  address  which 
you  have  done  me  the  great  honour  to  perfix  to  it.  To 
such  parts  of  it  as  are  commendatory,  I  can  only  say, 
that  although  it  be  an  arduous  task,  I  will  do  the  best 
I  can  to  justify  you  to  the  world  for  the  favourable 
opinion  which  you  have  ventured  to  express  ;  and  in  this 
respect  I  feel  as  if  I  had  been  paid  beforehand  for  a  work 
which  I  have  to  perform :  but  in  your  kind  and  friendly 
expressions  of  attachment  and  esteem  I  experience  the 
most  unalloyed  and  perfect  satisfaction,  because  I  know 
that  affection  can  only  be  repaid  in  Jcind,  and  that  I  am 
rich  enough  to  make  you  a  return.  May  this  public 
seal  of  our  friendship  not  only  confirm  it  whilst  we  live, 
but  long  continue  to  unite  our  names  in  future  times, 
as  associates  in  our  studies  and  pursuits,  in  our  disposi- 
tions and  our  hearts." 


196  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE. 

During  the  summer  of  1805,  Dr.  Smith,  accompanied 
by  Mrs.  Smith,  again  paid  a  visit  to  Allerton,  where  he 
remained  several  weeks,  and  confirmed  the  favourable 
mipressions  which  his  first  acquaintance  had  created. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1804,  INIr.  Roscoe,  probably 
on  the  suggestion  of  his  friend  Dr.  Smith,  became  a  Fel- 
low of  the  Linnean  Society.  Some  years  afterwards  he 
contrihuted  a  few  papers  to  its  "  Transactions,"  which 
will  be  hereafter  noticed. 

The  literary  labours  of  Mr.  Roscoe  at  this  time  were 
agreeably  diversified  by  the  society  of  his  friends.  Dur- 
ing a  visit  which  Fuseli  paid  to  Liverpool,  in  the  year 
1804,  he  passed  much  of  his  time  at  Allerton,  amusing 
those  around  him  by  his  wit,  and  informing  them  by  his 
learning.  His  biographer  relates,  that  as  Mr.  Roscoe 
was  pointing  out  to  him  the  improvements  which  had 
taken  place  in  Liverpool,  Fuseli  observed,  "  1  do  not 
wonder  that  you  look  upon  these  with  some  degree  of 
self-complacency,  for  they  may  be  considered  as  the 
work  of  your  hands,  and  as  such  I  view  them  with  in- 
terest ;  but  methinks  I  every  where  smell  the  blood  of 
slaves."  *  The  gratification  which  Fuseli  derived  from 
this  visit  is  expressed  by  him,  in  his  usual  strong  lan- 
guage, in  the  following  letter:  — 

''  Ecco  mi  giiuito  al  strepitoso  nido  !  It  is  only  since 
yesterday  that  I  can  consider  myself  as  settled  here, 
having  been  a  visiter,  ever  since  my  arrival,  at  Johnson's 
suhurbano,  which  is  neither  Allerton,  nor  Shepherd's  bo- 
tanic paradise,  but  a  sweet  and  peaceful  little  neat  hut 
embosomed  in  a  wilderness  of  shrubs  ;  and,  what  I  like 
better,  cntomologic  weeds ;  a  close  and  humble  neigh- 


*  Life  of  Fuseli,  p.  376. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  197 

bour  to  the  magnificent  domain   of  some  nauwah,  but 
undisturbed  by  his  four  demons  ycleped  gardeners. 

"  Where  shall  I  begin,  where  end  my  thanks  for  what  I 
enjoyed,  my  regrets  for  what  I  left,  when  I  parted  from 
you,  your  wife,  your  sons,  and  daughters  ?  My  heart 
tells  me  it  is  nonsense  to  attempt,  and  so  I  drop  it.  A 
few  such  weeks  as  I  have  passed  amongst  you  atone  for 
months  of  care  and  misery,  and  add  to  the  real  sum  of 
life. 

"  In  this  humour  you  would  not  expect  that,  if  I  had 
business  to  impart,  I  should  now  speak  of  it ;  we  always 
wake,  and  too  soon,  alas  I  from  a  delicious  dream.  Ex- 
pect soon  more." 

Amongst  the  many  distinguished  scholars  and  men  of 
taste  with  whom  the  literary  reputation  of  Mr.  Roscoe 
led  to  an  acquaintance  was  Mr.  Mathias,  whose  intimate 
and  critical  knowledo;e  of  the  lano-uage  and  literature  of 
Italy  has,  perhaps,  never  been  equalled  by  a  native  of 
this  country.  Mr.  Roscoe  was  naturally  desirous  of 
acquiring  the  favourable  opinion  and  the  personal  ac- 
quaintance of  so  eminent  a  scholar ;  but  it  was  not 
until  some  years  after  the  publication  of  his  first  his- 
torical work  that  an  opportunity  of  becoming  known  to 
him  was  afforded.  In  the  year  1801  Mr.  Mathias 
transmitted  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  through  the  hands  of  their 
mutual  friend  Mrs.  Riddel,  a  copy  of  a  selection  which 
he  had  lately  made  from  the  poems  of  Petrarch ;  and 
fi:om  this  period  they  continued  to  correspond  occasion- 
ally upon  subjects  of  literary  interest,  and  to  make  a 
mutual  interchange  of  their  writings.  The  admiration 
which  Mr.  Mathias  felt  for  the  high  literary  character 
of  his  correspondent  he  manifested  in  a  beautiful  Italian 
canzone  addressed  to  him,  and  prefixed  to  his  edition  of 
"  Selections  from  Tiraboschi,"  a  distinguished  honour,  of 
17* 


198  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

wlilch  Mr.  Roscoe  was  justly  })roiKl.  The  reputation  of 
Mr.  ^Nlathias  as  an  Italian  scholar  must  always  render  his 
judgment  upon  subjects  connected  with  the  literature  of 
that  country  of  the  highest  value  ;  and  it  cannot,  there- 
fore, be  improper,  to  present,  in  this  place,  a  portion 
of  the  correspondence  between  him  and  Mr.  Roscoe. 

In  the  year  1803,  IVIr.  Mathias  transmitted  to  Mr. 
Roscoe  the  beautiful  volumes  which  he  had  just  publish- 
ed, of  "  Selections  from  the  Commentaries  of  Crescim- 
beni,"  which  were  accompanied  by  the  following  let- 
ter: — 

''  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  offer  you  a  copy  of  the 
*  Commentaries  on  the  Poetry  of  Italy  by  Crescimbeni,' 
which  I  have  republished,  detached  from  the  historical 
part  of  the  work,  as  I  think  it  is  a  treatise  of  singular 
merit,  and  perfect  in  its  kind.  I  conceive  it  may  tend 
in  an  eminent  degree  to  diffuse  the  knowledge,  and 
promote  the  cultivation,  of  Italian  literature  in  this 
country,  in  which  I  am  sure  you  will  feel  yourself  natu- 
rally interested ;  for,  in  whatever  part  of  the  civilised 
world  that  subject  is  brought  forwards,  the  name  of 
Roscoe  cannot  be  far  off, 

"  It  is  also  my  intention  shortly  to  present  the  public 
with  '  La  Storia  della  Poesia  Italiana,'  as  written  by 
Tiraboschi,  taken  from  his  most  valuable  and  voluminous 
history  of  Italian  literature  in  general.  It  will  accom- 
pany Crescim])cni  with  great  effect,  in  my  opinion  ;  and 
will  com])lete  this  part  of  the  plan  which  I  have  formed, 
in  the  hope  of  giving  honour  and  permanency,  amongst 
my  countrymen,  to  the  greatest  language  of  modern 
Europe.  I  wish  they  may  have  the  sense  and  spirit 
to  second  the  attempt.  I  propose  to  address  this  per- 
sonally to  you,  as  Italy  acknowledges  in  you  the  patron 
and  protector  of  her  learned  offspring  ;  and  will  for  ever 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  199 

confess,  that  you  have  given  the  most  illustrious  exam- 
ple to  all  those  who,  though  with  unequal  powers, 
may  hereafter  be  desirous  of  advancing  the  glory  of 
that  parent  of  arts  and  learning.  ^  Propter  amorem ' 
is  at  once  my  excuse  and  my  satisfaction  on  this  occa- 
sion. 

^'  I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  that  you,  and  all  your 
family,  have  enjoyed  your  health  since  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you  (for  too  short  a  time)  in  London  last 
year." 

''  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  observe,"  says  Mr. 
Roscoe,  in  answer  to  the  foregoing  letter,  "  that  the 
literature  of  Italy  has  begun  to  attract  the  more  particu- 
lar notice  of  our  countrymen ;  and  I  am  highly  gratified 
to  find  that  its  cause  has  fallen  into  such  able  hands  as 
yours,  who  are  in  every  respect  qualified  to  set  it  off  to 
advantage.  One  would  have  thought  that  the  example 
of  our  great  poets,  and  particularly  of  Spenser  and 
Milton,  would  have  recommended  the  Italians  to  the 
study  of  all  those  who  are  emulous  of  their  honours ; 
yet  certain  it  is,  that  they  have  hitherto  been  unaccounta- 
bly neglected  in  this  country,  and,  excepting  a  very 
few  eminent  authors,  may  be  said  to  be  wholly  strangers 
amongst  us.  Nor  is  it  from  the  poets  alone  we  should 
derive  improvement.  The  literary  history  of  Italy 
would  open  an  immense  fund  of  information  far  beyond 
what  that  of  any  other  country  (I  do  not  except  even 
our  own)  could  afibrd.  I  am  therefore  glad  to  find  that 
you  have  followed  up  your  '  Componimenti  Lirici ' 
with  the  '  Commentary  of  Crescimbeni ; '  and  that  to 
these  you  still  design  to  add  the  excellent  work  of 
Tiraboschi,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  the  history  of  poetry. 
Works  selected  with  so  much  judgment,  and  published 
in  so  elegant  and  convenient  a  form,  seem  to  me  emi- 


200  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

nently  calculated  to  dlfFiise  a  more  general  relish  for 
these  studies,  particularly  at  this  time,  when,  as  far  as  I 
can  judge  from  my  distant  situation,  the  Italian  language 
seems  to  be  more  attended  to  than  it  has  ever  before 
been  within  my  memory.  For  your  highly  esteemed 
present  of  the  volumes  of  Crescimbeni,  and  for  your 
kind  intentions  towards  me,  I  beg  you  to  accept  my 
best  acknowledgments.  To  be  associated  in  any  man- 
ner in  the  attempt  which  you  are  so  laudably  making 
to  recall  the  public  taste  to  standards  of  real  excellence 
will  always  be  considered  by  me  as  a  great  honour.  I 
should  be  glad  to  think  that  I  have  in  any  degree  con- 
tributed to  the  success  of  this  cause  ;  but,  at  all  events, 
I  can  never  regret  those  efforts  which  have  obtained  for 
me  the  obliging  assurances  of  your  esteem  and  friendship, 
—  assurances  in  which  I  confide  with  pleasure,  and 
which  I  repeat  with  sincerity,  in  the  hope  that  1  may  ere 
long  find  an  opportunity  of  confirming  them  in  person." 

The  edition  of  the  "  Selections  from  Tiraboschi "  was 
forwarded  to  Mr.  Roscoe  a  few  months  afterwards,  with 
the  following  flattering  letter  :  — 

*'  I  have  a  particular  satisfaction  in  offering  to  you  the 
*  History  of  Italian  Poetry,'  as  written  by  the  great 
historian  of  the  general  literature  of  Italy,  Tiraboschi, 
which  will  be  published  in  a  few  days.  I  am  sure  every 
scholar  in  this  country  will  agree  in  the  propriety  of  ad- 
dressing this  work  personally  to  you,  as  you  have  every 
claim  arising  from  its  peculiar  subject,  which  you  have 
illustrated  in  one  of  the  principal  periods,  by  your  talents 
and  your  erudition,  and  which  is  known  and  admired  in 
every  j)art  of  the  civilised  world. 

*'  If  the  Canzone,  which  is  honoured  by  the  prefixing 
of  your  name  to  it,  should  be  considered  by  you  as  an- 
swerable to  the  dignity  of  its  theme,  in  any  manner,  I 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  201 

can  assure  you  I  have  endeavoured  by  much  thought, 
time,  and  attention,  to  render  it  not  wholly  unworthy  of 
your  perusal  — 

*  Non  ita  certandi  cupidus,  quam  propter  amorem.' 

'^  I  am  inclined  to  hope  that  the  language  and  htera- 
ture  of  Italy  may  finally,  under  your  auspices,  be  hon- 
oured, cultivated,  and  promoted  in  Great  Britain ;  and  I 
trust  that  these  disinterested  contributions  to  revive  them 
may  be  favourably  regarded.  In  the  different  addresses 
to  our  countrymen  in  the  various  Italian  works  I  have 
presented  to  their  notice,  in  the  originals,  I  have  fully 
explained  my  sentiments." 

"  I  have  just  had  the  pleasure,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in 
reply,  ^'  of  receiving  the  four  volumes  of  the  '  History  of 
Italian  Poetry,'  extracted  from  the  great  work  of  the 
learned  Tiraboschi ;  a  publication  which,  like  the  others 
with  which  you  have  lately  favoured  us,  will,  I  doubt  not, 
contribute  to  diffuse  a  more  general  knowledge  of  the 
poetry  and  literature  of  Italy,  which  will  be  found  the 
surest  preservative  against  that  degradation  with  which 
this  country  is  threatened.  It  is  not,  however,  as  the 
republisher  of  these  valuable  works  alone  that  your 
countrymen  are  indebted  to  you.  The  example  which 
you  have  set  before  them  of  the  proficiency  which  a 
native  of  England  may  acquire  in  the  beautiful  and  ex- 
pressive language  of  Italy,  and  of  the  success  with  which 
it  may  be  adapted  to  every  style  of  composition,  from 
the  most  elegant  and  simple  prose  to  the  most  elevated 
poetry,  must  operate  as  a  still  more  powerful  recommen- 
dation of  the  study  of  the  Italian  language.  It  must  not, 
however,  be  supposed  that  the  most  thorough  acquaint- 
ance  with  the   language  will   communicate   that  poetic 


202  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

fervour  and  vivacity  so  conspicuous  in  the  Canzone 
which  you  have  done  nie  tlie  lionour  to  address  to  me, 
and  in  the  perusal  of  which  I  know  not  whether  I  am 
more  surprised  at  the  powerful  and  well-supported  strain 
of  lyric  poetry  which  it  displays,  or  on  finding  some  part  of 
it  lavished  on  such  a  subject  as  myself.  In  fact,  my  dear 
Sir,  although  I  certainly  am  not  insensible  to  the  glow  of 
honourable  praise  ;  and  although  the  elevated  and  manly 
style  in  which  it  has  been  conferred,  is  still  more  gratify- 
mg  to  me ;  yet  the  satisfaction  which  I  feel  is  not  unac- 
companied by  sensations  of  a  more  painful  nature  ;  and  I 
am  too  well  acquainted  with  the  insufficiency  of  my  own 
pretensions,  to  consider  this  production  in  any  other  light 
than  as  a  composition  which  I  admire,  and  a  mark  of 
friendship  of  which  I  am  proud.  The  public  will  not, 
however,  I  fear,  allow  me  to  appeal  from  so  decisive  an 
authority ;  and  I  experience  the  feelings  of  one  who 
stands  approved  for  merits  of  which  he  is  not  conscious, 
and  pledged  to  the  performance  of  labours  far  beyond  his 
powers.  But  however  low  I  may  stand  in  my  own 
estimation,  I  must  not  now  allow  myself  to  shrink  from 
the  more  elevated  prospect  which  you  have  pointed  out 
to  me  ;  and  it  will,  at  least,  be  my  endeavour  to  justify, 
by  my  future  efforts,  that  favourable  opinion  which  has 
been  so  partially  expressed." 

Having  re])rinted  his  Canzoni  Toscanc  in  the  year 
1806,  Mr.  IVIalhias  addressed  to  Mr.  Roscoe  the  follow- 
ing letter,  accompanying  several  copies  of  the  poem  in- 
scribed to  him :  — 

"  It  gives  me  particular  pleasure,  whenever  I  have  an 
opportunity  of  addressing  you,  or  enquiring  after  you, 
and  your  important  as  well  as  truly  classical  employments, 
for  whirli  tlio  world  of  letters  is  so  much  indebted  to 
you. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  203 

"  Though  you  are  in  possession  of  all  the  Italian  works 
which  I  have  offered  to  the  public,  yet,  as  I  have  just 
been  induced  to  reprint  the  two  '  Canzoni  Toscane^^ 
which  I  took  the  liberty  of  inscribing  to  you  and  Dr. 
Marcet,  separately  from  the  volumes  to  which  I  originally 
prefixed  them,  I  indulge  a  hope  that  you  will  receive 
them  in  their  new  shape.  I  must  also  confess  that  one 
very  principal  motive  for  my  reprinting  them  was  this ; 
•—  that  if  any  person  should  be  inclined  to  honour  my 
Canzone  so  highly  as  to  bind  it  up  with  either  of  your 
most  valuable  histories,  he  may  now  be  enabled  to  do 
so ;  as  I  have  printed  it  on  exactly  the  same  sized  paper. 
I  have  also  had  a  few  copies  taken  off  on  a  large  paper, 
the  same  as  that  on  which  your  magnificent  edition  of 
Leo  X.  is  printed.  The  constant  indulgence  with  which 
you  have  favoured  my  attempt  to  express  the  very  high 
sense  which  I  entertain  of  your  meritorious  and  eminent 
services  to  the  literary  part  of  England  and  of  Italy, 
leads  me  to  hope  that  this  feeble  but  sincere  desire  of 
paying  still  further  respect  to  you  will  also  be  excused 
or  approved. 

'  All'  opre  vostre  e  pellegrine  e  nove 
Tue  sacrerei  la  mia  straniera  lira, 
Straniera  si,  ma  fida.' 

"  I  hope  that  you  will  excuse  my  having  put  up  a 
few  copies  of  the  Canzone  for  such  of  your  friends  as 
you  think  might  wish  it  should  accompany  either  of 
your  works.  It  seems  as  if  Italy  must  at  last  retire  into 
Great  Britain  from  the  insults  and  injuries  of  the  Corsi- 
can  tyrant,  and  she  will  repose  with  gratitude  at  your 
feet.  I  should  be  happy  to  hear  that  all  your  family 
are  well,  and  that  you  have  enjoyed  health  and  leisure 
for  the  most  pleasing  of  all  your  labours,  —  those  which 
you  devote  to  literature." 


204  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

To  this  letter  the  following  answer  was  returned  by 
Mr.  Roscoe :  — 

"  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  obliging 
letter,  accompanying  the  copies  of  your  two  beautiful 
*  Canzoni  Toscanc,'  and  cannot  sufficiently  express  how 
greatly  I  feel  myself  indebted  to  you  for  this  additional 
instance  of  your  kind  partiality.  The  Canzone  which 
you  have  been  so  good  as  to  address  to  me,  I  shall  be 
proud  to  prefix  to  my  ^  Life  of  Leo,'  and  to  enable  a 
few  of  my  friends,  devoted  to  Italian  literature,  to  do 
the  same.  I  shall  thus,  in  some  degree,  gratify  a  desire 
which  I  always  had,  to  see  this  elegant  production  pre- 
cede my  work ;  and  which,  indeed,  nothing  could  have 
prevented  (had  you  consented  to  it),  but  an  apprehen- 
sion that  I  might  be  considered  as  publishing  my  own 
praise,  in  having  my  name  thus  permanently  united 
with  yours  in  this  favourite  object  of  our  common  pur- 
suit. 

*  Che  andrian  le  Muse  lagrimose  e  sole 
Senza  onor  di  gliirlande  e  d'  auree  cetre, 
E  muti  si  starian  gli  inni  canori 
Senza  Te  che  Parnaso  ami  ed  onori.' 

"  I  continue  to  flatter  myself,  that  at  some  period  not 
far  distant,  I  may  have  an  opportunity  of  renewing  our 
very  interesting  conversations  on  the  literature  and  wTiters 
of  Italy.  If  this  should  hajipcn  under  my  own  roof,  it 
would  be  doubly  j)leasant  to  me  ;  and  as  it  is  probable 
that  you  may  make  an  excursion  during  the  sunnner, 
allow  me  to  prevail  upon  you  to  direct  your  course  to 
tlie  north,  and  to  pass  a  few  days  with  me  in  my  quiet 
retirement  at  Allerton." 

Amonn;st  the  most  intimate  friends  of  Mr.  Roscoe, 
there  was  no  one  who  had  won  more  of  his  affection,  or 
commanded  more  of  his  respect,  than  Dr.  Currie.    Their 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     R O S C O E .  205 

acquaintance  had  commenced  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
the  latter  in  Liverpool :  and  to  the  period  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  the  autumn  of  the  present  year  (1805), 
their  friendship  had  continued  without  interruption.  The 
literary  tastes  and  critical  powers  of  Dr.  Currie  were 
highly  valued  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  who  submitted  to  his 
judgment  the  manuscript  of  a  great  part  of  his  historical 
works,  his  translation  of  "  The  Nurse,"  and  his  occasional 
fugitive  pieces.  In  a  note  enclosing  one  of  the  latter, 
he  appropriately  addresses  him  as  '^  Sincerest  critic  of 
my  prose  or  rhyme."  His  Muse,  also,  was  not  idle  in 
the  service  of  his  friend  ;  and  some  lines  on  the  death 
of  his  children,  and  a  sonnet,  which  have  been  lately 
published,*  attest  the  warmth  of  his  feelings.  How  se- 
cure the  basis  was  upon  which  their  friendship  rested, 
—  a  companionship  in  virtuous  exertions,  —  is  seen  in 
the  concluding  lines  of  the  poem :  — 

"  —  Nor  o'er  our  heads  may  many  suns  return, 
When  we,  my  friend,  may  share  the  lot  we  mourn  — 
Still  in  the  dust  this  busy  hand  shall  lie, 
Dim  in  its  socket  rest  thy  tracing  eye : 
Meantime,  whate'er  of  life  its  Author  spares, 
Give  we  to  generous  aims  and  social  cares ; 
That  when  we  rest  in  chill  oblivion  cold, 
And  o'er  our  ashes  numerous  years  have  roll'd, 
Some  happier  effort  may  survive  the  tomb, 
Pregnant  with  bliss  to  beings  yet  to  come." 

In  conjunction  with  Dr.  Currie,  Mr.  Roscoe  com- 
menced, in  the  year  1790,  a  series  of  Essays,  under  the 
title  of  "  The  Recluse,"  which  were  published  in  the 
''  Liverpool  Herald,"  and  of  which  the  greater  part  were 
from  his  own  pen.     But  it  was  not  by  a  participation  in 

*  Life  of  Dr.  Currie,  vol.  i.  p.  147. 
VOL.  I.  18 


206  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

these  li2;ht  and  elegant  pursuits  alone  that  the  friendship 
of  Dr.  Currie  and  Mr.  Roscoe  was  cemented.  It  was 
strengthened  by  their  joint  endeavours  to  promote  liberal 
principles,  and  to  further  benevolent  objects,  by  their 
mutual  anxiety  to  assist  one  another  in  designs  of  public 
utility,  and  by  the  promptitude  with  which  they  jointly 
came  forwards  at  the  public  call.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  the  dissolution  of  a  friendsliip  like  this  should  have 
been  felt  most  deeply  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  whose  sympathy 
for  the  fate  of  liis  friend  was  heightened  by  the  singular 
instance  of  his  attachment,  recorded  in  the  following 
letter,  WTitten  iimmediately  after  Dr.  Currie's  death,  to 
Mr.  Macneil,  the  poet :  — 

"  Be  assured,  my  dear  Sir,  that  in  our  common  attach- 
ment to  our  late  much  loved  and  lamented  friend,  I  feel 
an  additional  bond  of  union  between  us.  His  influence 
yet  survives,  and  forms  fresh  motives  of  confidence  and 
friendship.  *  *  *  You  will  already,  perhaps,  have 
heard  that  the  sufferings  of  our  late  excellent  friend, 
towards  the  close  of  his  life,  were  uncommonly  severe ; 
but  it  may  be  some  satisfaction  to  you  to  know,  that  the 
firmness  of  his  mind  was  equal  to  the  trial,  and  that, 
amidst  the  most  painful  conflicts  of  his  disorder,  he  was 
employed  in  an  abstract  attention  to  the  nature  of  his 
symptoms,  as  if  he  had  been  making  observations  on  the 
case  of  anotlier  person.  Such  a  decided  superiority  of 
mind  to  body  has  seldom  been  exhibited,  and  reminds 
me  of  a  most  striking  passage  in  a  letter  of  Dr.  Reid, 
given  ill  ^Fr.  Stewart's  Life  of  that  eminent  man.  '  To 
think  that  the  soul  perislies  in  that  fatal  moment,  when 
it  is  purified  by  this  fiery  trial,  and  fitted  for  the  noblest 
exertions  in  anotlier  state,  is  an  opinion  which  I  cannot 
liolp  looking  down  upon  with  contempt  and  disdain.' 
On  this  subject,  I  cannot  refrain  from  communicating  to 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  207 

you  some  other  circumstances  attending  his  last  moments, 
which  afford  an  additional  proof  of  the  warmth  of  his 
affections,  and  the  unbroken  vigour  of  his  mind.  Whilst 
confined  to  his  bed,  he  was  accustomed  to  dictate  to  his 
son  Wallace,  who  constantly  attended  on  him,  such  sen- 
timents as  occurred  to  him  respecting  those  matters  in 
which  he  was  most  deeply  interested  —  his  family,  his 
friends,  his  writings,  and  his  opinions.  This  practice  was 
continued  to  the  very  extreme  of  his  rational  powers, 
and  was  even  renewed  in  the  intervals  of  delirium  im- 
mediately preceding  his  death.  Some  of  these  written 
memorials  have  since  been  communicated  to  me ;  and 
you  will  readily  conceive  what  my  feelings  must  have 
been,  on  finding  one  of  them  addressed  to  myself,  tremu- 
lously signed  with  his  own  hand,  intended  to  convey  to 
me  and  mine  his  last  blessing,  and  to  give  me  some  ac- 
count of  the  state  of  his  feelings  on  the  most  important 
of  all  topics,  so  far  as  he  had  then  proceeded  in  what 
he  himself  denominates  '  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.'  Such  a  pledge  of  affection  more  nearly  resem- 
bles a  communication  from  the  world  of  spirits,  than  a 
message  from  a  fellow  mortal ;  and  I  shall,  accordingly, 
preserve  it  as  an  inestimable  memorial  of  the  friendship 
of  a  man  of  high  intellectual  endowments,  inflexible 
energy,  and  unbounded  goodness  of  heart." 

In  one  of  his  latest  papers.  Dr.  Currie  had  expressed 
a  wish,  that,  on  any  thing  that  respected  his  memoirs, 
his  "loved  and  excellent  friend  Mr.  Roscoe"  might  be 
consulted ;  and  for  many  years  it  was  the  earnest  desire 
of  the  latter  to  present  to  the  public  the  biography  of 
his  friend.  The  weight  of  business,  however,  and  various 
engagements  in  which  he  became  necessarily  involved, 
prevented  him  from  carrying  this  project  into  effect,  —  a 
circumstance  which  he  never  ceased  to  lament,  till  he 


208  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

enjoyed  the  gratification  of  reading  the  admirable  Me- 
moir which  the  son  of  Dr.  Currie  has  lately  given  to  the 
world. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Currie  was  followed  by  that  of  Mr. 
William  Clarke,  the  early  literary  associate  of  Mr.  Roscoe. 
In  mentioninii;  this  double  loss,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  he 
says,  —  "It  is  true,  the  recollection  of  the  sufferings 
which  they  had  to  sustain,  and  which  they  bore  with 
uncommon  fortitude,  served  in  some  degree  to  blunt  the 
first  emotions  of  sorrow,  and  to  reconcile  the  mind  to  the 
loss  of  those,  whose  longer  continuance  in  life  would  only 
have  been  a  prolongation  of  anguish.  But  if  the  weapon 
was  blunted,  it  has  still  inflicted  an  incurable  wound; 
and  to  the  last  moment  of  my  life  I  must  regret  the  loss 
of  these  my  long-loved  friends,  who,  however  they  might 
differ  in  disposition,  manners,  talents,  and  character, 
united  in  regarding  me  with  partial  and  unalterable  affec- 


tion." 


There  was  probably  no  one,  among  the  many  persons 
attached  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  whose  society  he  found 
greater  delight  than  in  that  of  Mr.  Clarke.  The  Hveli- 
ness,  the  simplicity,  and  the  facetiousness  of  his  manner, 
coupled  with  the  great  intelligence  of  his  mind,  and  his 
love  of  literary  pursuits,  rendered  him  a  peculiarly  agree- 
able com])anion.  Even  during  a  long  and  afflicting  state 
of  ill  health,  spirits  which  never  failed,  and  a  good- 
nature not  to  be  overcome,  nuide  liis  society  delightful. 
So  early  as  tlie  year  1783,  lie  was  compelled,  for  the 
sake  of  the  climate,  to  take  up  his  residence  abroad, 
where  he  remained  for  about  seven  years,  during  the 
whole  of  whicli  time  he  corresponded  regularly  with  his 
friend.  These  letters,  written  sometimes  in  Italian, 
sometimes  in  French,  and  occasionidly  in  Latin,  contain 
lively  pictures  of  the  countries  wliich  he  visited,  valuable 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  209 

intelligence  with  regard  to  literary  curiosities,  and  ever 
recurring  allusions  to  the  happy  days  which  he  had 
passed  in  the  society  of  his  correspondent.  A  taste  for 
tranquillity  and  literary  leisure  was  strongly  felt  by  Mr. 
Clarke ;  and  he  frequently  refers  to  the  expected  time, 
when,  in  company  with  his  friend,  he  may  hope  to  follow 
the  bent  of  his  inclinations. 

"  So,  you  are  immersed  in  public  business ! 

*  The  world,  the  world  will  have  its  slaves.' 

A  little  mortification  will  make  retreat  more  enviable, 
more  full  of  relish.  Let  us  make  all  the  haste  we  can, 
however,  to  get  along  a  river  side  to  peace  and  tranquil- 
lity. There  Dante  shall  attend  to  conduct  us  to  Hell, 
but  not  to  leave  us  there  ;  for  we  will  not  rest,  till  through 
the  medium  of  Purgatory,  we  join  Beatrice  in  the  su- 
pernal regions." 

"  I  congratulate  you,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  dated  in 
1783,  "  on  the  increase  of  your  family  ;  though  I  some- 
what repine  (while  I  applaud  your  resolution)  at  the 
imposition  it  lays  upon  you  to  join  in  the  general  conten- 
tion for  wealth.  I  expect  to  find  you,  on  my  return,  as 
intently  occupied  in  the  pursuit  as  any  of  your  neigh- 
bours. 'Tis  in  vain  to  resist  the  torrent ;  but  your  natural 
inclination  will,  I  think,  lead  you  to  secure  your  retreat 
as  early  as  prudence  will  allow ;  and  I  trust  that  period 
will  not  be  a  distant  one,  provided  the  moderation  of 
your  wishes  continues.  It  is  a  true  maxim,  '  To  tem- 
perate bounds,'  &1C.  On  this  plan  I  hold  myself  ready 
to  join  you  in  any  scheme  of  life  you  approve.  I  shall 
presently  be  qualified  for  the  veriest  hermit;  —  ease, 
quiet,  temperance,  reflection,  —  to  these  are  my  vows 
directed  ;  not  but  that  I  sometimes  shall  leave  my  retreat, 
to  feel  a  greater  relish  for  it  at  my  return." 
18* 


210  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

During  Mr.  Clarke's   visit   to   Lisbon,  the   following 
verses  were  addressed  to  him  by  IVIr.  Roscoe  :  — 

"  Ye  hills  with  towering  forests  crown'd, 
Ye  plains  hy  sultry  sun's  cmbrown'd, 
Ye  vales  along:  whose  vine-crown'd  sides 
Tiie  Douro  rolls  his  rapid  tides ; 

"  Ye  rocks  grotesque,  Avhose  rugged  brow 
Glooms  o'er  the  bcatincr  sur^e  below. 
Whence  Lusitania's  Genius  eyes 
The  ocean  mingling  Avith  the  skies ; 

"  From  northern  climes  and  colder  shores, 
My  Clarke  your  mild  retreats  explores, 
Hopeful  to  find  their  shades  supply 
That  health  his  native  fields  deny. 

"  Oh !  guide  his  steps,  ye  guardian  powers, 
Oh !  lead  him  to  your  greenest  bowers  ; 
And  whilst  he  treads  the  flowinsf  vale. 
Let  health  breathe  strong  in  every  gale. 

"  Nor  be  your  gifts  to  health  confined ; 
But  soothe  to  peace  his  gentle  mind, 
Infuse  contentment's  healing  balm. 
And  bid  each  anxious  thought  be  calm. 

"  Released  from  Winter's  icy  arms. 
When  Spring  unfolds  Iier  op'ning  charms, 
Then  rich  in  vigorous  health  restore 
The  wanderer  to  his  native  shore ; 

"  Witji  learning  that  disdains  pretence, 
With  native  wit,  and  manly  sense, 
Again  to  smootli  my  brow  of  care, 
Again  my  social  hour  to  sliare ; 

"  To  soothe  by  reason's  kind  control 
Each  wilder  tumult  of  my  soul ; 
Witi)in  due  boiuids  my  liopes  confine, 
And  make  liis  temperate  spirit  mine. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  211 

"  So  may  nor  whirlwind,  blight,  nor  storm, 
Your  verdant  orange-groves  deform ; 
So  may  your  vines  in  cluster'd  pride 
Pour  in  full  streams  their  purple  tide  ;    ■ 

"  Nor  e'er  within  your  favour'd  bound 
The  earthquake  walk  his  wasteful  round ; 
Which  on  Calabria's  alter'd  shores 
The  trembling  native  now  deplores." 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1790,  Mr.  Clarke  returned 
from  the  Continent ;  and  the  pleasure  with  which  he 
anticipated  his  re-union  with  one  for  whom  he  felt  so 
entire  a  friendship,  is  beautifully  expressed  in  a  letter 
written  immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  Brighton.  —  "A 
little  while  more  will  bring  us,  I  hope,  together.  In 
your  society,  my  friend,  I  look  for  the  principal  pleasure 
of  my  life.  The  commerce  of  the  world  gives  me  no 
real  satisfaction,  and  I  am  not  fit  for  it ;  but  as  often  as 
the  calls  of  business  will  allow,  your  dwelling,  whether 
in  town  or  park,  shall  be  my  principal  haunt.  I  know  no 
enjoyments  like  those  of  friendship  and  retirement.  My 
system  (as  far  as  is  compatible  with  duty)  being  to  stand 
aloof  from  the  cares  of  the  world,  which  are  the  source 
of  much  disquietude.  The  tranquil  philosophy  of  our 
old  friend  Horace  is  much  to  my  taste.  His  favourite 
maxim,  of  moderating  our  desires,  is  of  all  others  the 
most  important ;  but,  I  know  not  how,  we  seem  often  to 
be  carried  along  by  a  bhnd  impulse,  as  if  a  fatality  pre- 
sided over  our  actions." 

In  the  summer  of  1805,  Mr.  Clarke  visited  London 
for  medical  advice.  His  sufferings  now  almost  overcame 
the  delightful  spirits  with  which  nature  had  gifted  him, 
and  his  letters  to  his  early  friend  are  full  of  the  most 
affecting  passages  :  — ^ "  I  must  grasp  the  pen,"  he  says, 
in  a  letter  dated  the  15th  of  August,  1805,  ''  to  say  that 


212  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

I  was  sorry  to  hear  you  have  been  poorly.  Mais  j'espere 
que  cela  est  passe.  Here  I  hnger  on,  in  a  most  lament- 
able state,  with  little  prospect  of  amendment.  My  spirits 
seem  likely  soon  to  be  completely  worn  out.  I  must 
console  myself  with  the  hope  that,  after  so  long  an  ill- 
ness, I  may  expect  an  alleviation  of  the  sufferings  of  my 
final  exit.  Believe  me,  usque  ad  umbras  silentes,  ubi 
vagatur  umbra  Ricardi  nostri,*  vester  addictissimus  Le 
Clerc." 

His  sensibility  to  the  sympathy  of  his  friend  he  ex- 
presses in  the  following  letter,  WTitten  shortly  before  his 
death  :  — 

"  This  post  brought  me  your  kind  and  affectionate 
letter,  which  has  nearly  overwhelmed  me.  I  may  literally 
say,  I  have  bathed  my  couch  with  my  tears.  I  prize, 
as  I  ought,  your  kind  philosophical  consolations  ;  and 
they  will,  I  trust,  assist  me  in  bearing  patiently  the  ills 
incident  to  our  nature.  I  would  write  more,  but  I  am 
exhausted.  Be  persuaded  that  the  impression  of  your 
kindness,  and  that  of  my  other  friends,  is  never  to  be 
effaced  from  my  heart." 

The  loss  of  these  long-tried  and  excellent  friends  made 
a  deep  impression  on  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  and 
his  more  confidential  letters  contain  many  reflections 
produced  by  these  afTecting  events. 

"  Surely,  the  misery  that  usually  attends  the  close  of 
life  affords  one  of  the  strongest  proofs  of  a  future  state  of 
existence.  For  how  is  it  possible  to  suppose  that  the 
same  Supreme  Being,  who  has  distributed  such  various 
and  extensive  happiness  to  his  creatures,  would  finally 
conclude  the  whole  with  pain  and  distress  ?     This  view 


*  Mr.  Richard  Lowndes,  the  early  friend  of  Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr. 
RoBCoe. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  213 

of  the  subject  is  the  only  one  that  can  afford  us  any  real 
consolation,  either  for  the  sufferings  of  our  friends,  or  for 
those  which  we  must  experience  ourselves.  After  a  life 
evidently  intended  to  exercise  our  virtues,  and  improve 
our  moral  powers,  death  may  be  considered  as  the  last 
great  trial  of  our  fortitude  ;  the  display  of  which,  as  it 
exhibits  a  complete  triumph  over  the  weakness  of  human 
nature,  seems  the  best  calculated  to  terminate  our  labours 
in  this  world,  and  accompany  us  on  our  entrance  into  the 
next.  In  the  mean  time,  we  who  survive  are  like  sol- 
diers in  an  army,  who,  as  their  ranks  are  thinned  by  the 
enemy,  draw  nearer  to  each  other." 

Not  long  after  these  events,  Mr.  Roscoe  had  to  regret, 
upon  different  grounds,  the  loss  of  a  man  for  whom  he 
had  ever  entertained  the  warmest  admiration  and  respect. 
In  the  magnanimous  nature,  the  philanthropic  heart,  and 
the  expanded  political  views  of  Mr.  Fox,  he  recognised 
the  qualities  which  compose  the  character  of  a  genuine 
statesman,  and  for  a  long  course  of  years  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  regard  him  as  the  great  hope  of  the  na- 
tion. How  sincerely  and  how  deeply  he  lamented  his 
loss  may  be  learned  from  the  following  letter  to  Lord 
Holland :  — 

^'  I  well  know  the  poignancy  of  domestic  grief  Is,  on 
this  occasion,  enhanced  by  the  consideration  of  the 
public  loss  of  such  a  man,  at  such  a  juncture  of  time 
—  a  man  in  whom  the  nation  seemed  at  lenoth  to  have 
reposed  its  hopes  and  its  confidence,  and  who  was  pre- 
eminently qualified,  both  by  his  talents  and  his  dispo- 
sition, to  relieve  her  from  the  complicated  evils  in  which 
she  has,  by  a  long  course  of  misconduct,  been  involved. 
In  this  point  of  view,  there  have  been  few,  if  any,  in- 
stances, where  the  sudden  loss  of  great  talents  may  be 
considered  as    so   strikingly   untimely    and   unfortunate. 


214  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

But  altliougli  this  must  be  the  first  and  natural  impres- 
sion on  such  an  event,  yet  a  due  reflection  will  induce 
us  to  moderate  our  anxiety,  and  convince  us  that  the 
expressions,  '  untimely  and  unfortunate,'  apply  only  to 
our  own  narrow  conceptions  and  bounded  views,  and 
that,  under  the  direction  of  Providence,  the  most  alarm- 
ing evils  may  not  only  be  averted,  but  may  become 
the  instruments  of  good.  Without  this  consoling  hope, 
our  present  prospects  would    be  dark  indeed. 

"  Among  the  many  great  and  striking  endowments  of 
jMr.  Fox,  there  is  one  in  particular  to  which  I  cannot 
help  adverting,  and  which  I  trust  will  still  continue  to 
animate  all  those  who  have  admired  him  in  public,  or 
loved  him  in  private  life.  I  mean  that  deep  and  inti- 
mate feehng  for  human  nature,  which  has  generally  been 
estranii;ed  from  the  bosom  of  statesmen,  but  which  w^as 
with  him  a  part  of  his  existence,  ever  actuating  him  to 
alleviate  the  evils,  to  vindicate  the  rights,  to  soften  the 
calamities,  and  to  increase,  by  every  means  in  his  power, 
the  happiness  of  mankind.  In  this  respect  he  is  not  lost 
to  us.  As  long  as  our  language  remains,  the  powerful 
efRisions  of  his  mind  will  continue  to  improve  and  en- 
lighten his  countrymen,  and  to  diffuse  a  milder  and 
more  benevolent  spirit,  not  only  in  the  recesses  of  private 
life,  but  in  the  direction  of  nations  and  the  intercourse 
of  states. 

"  Tliis,  my  dear  Lord,  is  his  great  and  lasting  praise  ; 
and  if  we  are  not  wanting  to  ourselves  in  pursuing  the 
track  which  his  genius  and  his  virtues  have  pointed  out 
to  us,  we  may  yet,  in  some  degree,  recompense  our- 
selves for  the  great  but  inevitable  loss  which,  in  the  com- 
mon course  of  nature,  wc  must,  at  one  time  or  other, 
have  had  to  sustain. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  215 

^'  The  preservation  of  his  speeches,  in  their  best  and 
most  authentic  form,  is  a  sacred  duty,  which,  I  doubt 
not,  will  be  most  religiously  observed.  It  is  here  that 
he  still  lives  and  breathes  ;  nor  is  there  a  single  question 
essential  to  the  great  interests  of  mankind,  but  we  can 
still  resort  to  these  invaluable  records,  as  to  his  living 
self,  for  those  liberal  ideas,  those  extensive  views,  those 
impartial  estimates  of  public  conduct,  those  bold  vindica- 
tions of  natural  and  political  rights,  those  humane  sug- 
gestions on  behalf  of  all  who  suffer  from  injustice  or 
oppression,  which  seem  to  have  been  the  spontaneous 
result  of  his  generous  spirit  and  exalted  mind,  and  which 
will  secure  to  him  the  love  and  admiration  of  all  future 
times." 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1804,  the  interests  of  a 
young  family  who  had  been  intrusted  to  his  guardianship 
made  it  necessary  for  Mr.  Roscoe  to  pass  a  few  days  in 
London.  This  visit  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  once 
more  seeing  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  who  was  now 
rapidly  approaching  the  close  of  his  long  and  distin- 
guished career.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Roscoe,  he  says, 
"  I  am  just  returned  from  the  Marquis.  I  have  been 
deeply  affected.  He  is  very  ill,  but  saw  me  ;  and  though 
he  speaks  with  hesitation,  his  kindness  both  to  me  and 
W.  is  expressed  in  the  most  affectionate  terms.  More 
when  I  return."  In  a  letter  to  Lord  Holland,  written 
after  the  Marquis's  death,  he  says,  "  I  am  sorry  to  have 
occasion,  so  near  the  close  of  my  letter,  to  recall  a  sub- 
ject of  such  infinite  regret  as  the  death  of  the  Marquis 
of  Lansdowne.  I  saw  him  about  twelve  months  since, 
and  was  apprehensive  that  his  life  could  not  be  greatly 
prolonged.  He  spoke  to  me  in  the  most  affectionate 
terms,  particularly  requesting  that  I  would  continue  the 
attachment  I  had  always  shown  him,  to  his  son  Lord 


216  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Henry,  —  a  recommendation  which  certainly  did  me 
great  honour,  but  which  was  not  necessary  to  induce  me 
to  comply  with  his  wishes."  The  correspondence  be- 
tween the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  and  Mr.  Roscoe 
extends  from  the  year  1790,  down  to  tlie  period  of  his 
Lordship's  last  illness.  Confidence,  attachment,  and  re- 
spect for  the  opinions  of  each  other,  are  freely  manifested 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  it.  There  were  few 
subjects  of  political  interest  upon  which  the  Marquis  did 
not  address  hi?  correspondent  ;  and  in  his  open  expres- 
sion of  sentiment,  his  capacious  and  liberal  views,  his 
attachment  to  freedom,  and  the  accurate  foresight  of  his 
judgment,  reflect  the  highest  honour  on  his  statesman- 
like character.  On  the  part  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  the  corres- 
pondence is  conducted  with  freedom,  with  sincerity,  and 
with  the  respect  due  to  the  station  and  talents  of  his 
correspondent,  and  to  the  conspicuous  part  he  had  long 
acted  in  public  affairs. 

During  this  excursion  Mr.  Roscoe  had  the  pleasure  of 
occasionally  enjoying  the  society  of  Dr.  J.  E.  Smith, 
who  happened  at  that  time  to  be  in  town.  In  the 
followin"-  letter  to  Mrs.  Roscoe  he  has  ii;iven  a  sli^iht 
sketch  of  his  eno-asrements  durino;  this  visit: — "  I  wrote 
you  a  few  lines  on  my  arrival  on  Saturday.  I  had 
scarcely  finished,  wlicn  Dr.  Smitli  and  Drake  called  on 
me,  and  I  accompanied  tlicm  to  the  Doctor's  lodgings, 
and  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  S.  and  Miss  F.  S.  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  describe  them  to  you,  lest  you  should 
think  you  have  totally  lost  your  wandering  swain.  I 
shall  only  say,  that  he  wlio  could  see  and  hear  Mrs.  S. 
witliout  being  enchanted,  has  a  heart  not  worth  a  far- 
thing. Mr.  Martin  also  called  on  me  at  the  Temple 
Coftce-housc.  He  was  going  on  Sunday  to  dine  with 
Dr.  Aikin  ;  and  Dr.  Smitli  promised  to  be  of  the  party. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  217 

I  found  a  note  from  Mr.  E.,  inviting  me  to  dinner  and 
bed,  but  I  excused  myself;  and  Dr.  Smith,  Drake,  the 
two  ladies,  and  myself,  intruded  ourselves  unexpectedly 
at   Dr.   Aikin's   table,   and   passed  one  of  the  brightest 
days  in  the  summer  of  human  life.     Dr.  A.  was  in  high 
spirits,  and  seemed  truly  to  enjoy  our  visit.     His  situa- 
tion is  perfectly  suited   to   his  wishes  ;  and  he  declared 
tliat  the  present  is  the  happiest  period  of  his  life.     Miss 
A.   is   improved    in    her  health,    and   preserves  all  her 
vivacity.     After  dinner  Mr.  Barbauld  called,  and  con- 
ducted us  to  his  incomparable  wife.     With  her  we  found 
Mrs.  John  Taylor,  and  a  long  et  ccetera  of  the  families 
which    I    cannot    enumerate  ;    and   after   half  an   hour's 
conversation,  we  returned  to  Dr.  Aikin's  to  tea.     On  our 
return  we  sent  Drake  home  in  the  coach  with  the  ladies, 
and   Dr.   Smith,   Mr.   Martin,   and  myself,  went  to   Sir 
Joseph  Bankes's.    I  was  introduced  to  him,  and  received 
very  kindly :  invited  to  dine  with  the  Royal  Society  on 
Thursday,  and  attend  the  meeting  of  that  and  the  Anti- 
quarian, which  I  intend  to  do.     To-day  I  have  devoted 
to  business,  examined  all   the  poor  old  gentleman's  pa- 
pers and   effects,   in  company  with  Mr.  E.,  one  of  the 
finest  old  gentlemen  of  seventy-five  that  I  ever  met  with. 
I  had  called  on  him  at  Clapton  on  Sunday,  and  apolo- 
gised for  my  apparent  incivility,  but  promised  to  dine 
with  him  to-day.     After  four  hours'  hard  work  in  Mr. 
Dawson's  lodgings,  I  accompanied  him  to  Clapton  Ter- 
race, six  or  eight  miles  from  town,  and  am  just  returned 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  with  sundry  valuables,  safe 
from  highway  depredators.     To-morrow  I  am   engaged 
to  dine  at  Mr.  Barbauld's :  Mr.  Martin  and  Miss  S.  are 
to  be  there.      In  the  evening  I   propose   to  go  to  the 
Linnean  Society.     Wednesday,  a  great  part,  with  Dr.  S. 
to  Kew.     Sunday  at  Mr.  Creevey's,  to  meet  Mr.  Fox. 

VOL.    I,  19 


218  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

*'  I  have  paid  several  other  visits,  hut  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  see  the  JNIarquis.  Engagements  crowd  in, 
but  1  hope  to  arrange  them  so  as  to  be  free  at  the  end 
of  next  week.  On  Sunday  we  called  at  Mr.  Belsham's, 
and  saw  our  young  friends,  who  are  in  perfect  health : 
I  shall  call  on  them  again  before  1  leave  town.  I  hope 
to  see  Mrs.  Wakefield  to-morrow.  I  write  this  with 
Harry  Browne  lecturing  on  hcef  a-la-mode  in  the  next 
room,  from  which  I  hear  every  word  as  plain  as  if  he 
sat  beside  me.  I  have  now  tired  myself  and  you,  but 
you  will  see  that  I  lose  no  time  ;  for  which  my  constant 
stimulating  principle  is,  that  I  may  be  once  more  at 
Allerton." 

The  sentiments  of  Mr.  Roscoe  at  this  time,  on  the 
course  of  political  events,  may  be  gathered  from  his 
letters.  In  the  following,  addressed  to  Lord  Holland,  he 
has  stated  his  views  with  regard  to  the  condition  of  the 
Roman  Catholics,  and  notices  one  of  the  great  causes 
which  was  silently  leading  to  their  emancipation :  — 

'*  March,  1805. 

"  I  have  somewhere,  in  that  work  *,  alluded  to  the 
necessity  there  is,  that  statesmen  and  rulers  should  be 
aware  of  the  changes  in  public  opinion,  and  should  ac- 
commodate tlicir  conduct  accordingly  ;  and  I  miglit  have 
added,  that  enliglitened  rulers  will  foresee  and  anticipate 
such  changes,  and  turn  tliose  circumstances,  wliicli  would 
otherwise  be  ruinous,  to  their  own  or  the  public  advan- 
tage. Tliis,  however,  lias  not  been  the  case  of  late  with 
the  achuiuistration  of  tliis  country,  who  liave  given 
anotlier  striking  ])roof  of  tluit  want  of  knowledge  of 
human  nature  which  has  always  cliaracterised  them,  in 
their  present  conduct  towards  tlie  Catholics  of  Ireland. 

*  The  "Lifeof  LeoX." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  219 

Can  any  thing  be  more  apparent,  than  that  the  late 
commotions  on  the  Continent  have  broken  down  all  the 
old  distinctions  between  Catholics  and  Protestants,  and 
given  rise  to  a  new  order  of  things,  in  which  theological 
distinctions  are  absolutely  lost  and  extinguished  ?  Have 
we  not  been  defending  the  Pope  in  his  own  capital  ? 
And  is  not  the  present  existence  of  the  Roman  See 
owing  to  the  interference  of  this  country  ?  Has  not  our 
great  enemy  united  against  us,  not  only  his  own  motley 
empire,  but  the  superstitious  and  Catholic  government 
of  Spain,  and  the  Protestant  and  enlightened  state  of 
Holland  ?  And  shall  we  be  the  last  people  on  earth  to 
perceive  these  important  alterations,  and,  through  mo- 
tives which  have  no  longer  any  real  foundation,  place  an 
insuperable  bar  between  classes  of  people  forming  one 
nation,  and  that  too  at  a  time  when  the  exertions  of  the 
whole  country  are  required  to  preserve  its  very  exis- 
tence ?  The  agitation  of  this  question  will,  however, 
have  done  great  good  ;  not  only  from  the  knowledge, 
liberality,  and  temperate  firmness  displayed  by  the  friends 
of  toleration,  but  by  the  disgraceful  ignorance  and  stupid 
superstition  of  its  adversaries.  The  difference  is  such  as 
cannot  fail  to  be  felt  in  every  part  of  the  country,  and 
will  have  a  tendency,  more  than  any  event  that  has  yet 
occurred,  to  promote  sentiments  of  moderation  and  good- 
will among  people  of  different  religious  persuasions,  and 
particularly  towards  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  thus  has- 
ten the  way  to  that  general  toleration  of  speculative 
opinions,  which  it  is  yet  to  be  hoped  will  finally  take 
place." 

In  another  letter,  to  the  same  nobleman,  written  at  the 
close  of  the  year  1805,  he  thus  expresses  himself  on  the 
subject  of  the  war :  —  "  The  intelligence  from  the  Con- 
tinent seems  to  become  every  day  more  important,  and 


220  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

the  war  acquires  a  characler  of  treachery,  cruelty,  and 
ferocity,  which  would  disirrace  an  a^e  of  barbarians. 
I  feel  all  this  the  more  sensibly,  from  an  apprehension 
that  this  country  has  been  the  cause  of  these  calamities. 
I  look  back  to  the  origin  of  the  present  contest,  when 
peace  and  war  hung  equal  in  the  balance,  and  the 
slightest  portion  of  moderation  and  true  good-will  to 
mankind  would  have  turned  the  scale  on  the  favourable 
side.  But  IMr.  Addington  was  suspected  of  being  too 
tame  a  minister,  and  thought  himself  called  upon  to  give 
a  proof  of  his  decision  and  firmness:  —  fatal  and  incon- 
siderate step  !  in  which  he  abandoned  his  natural  charac- 
ter, lost  himself  in  the  opinion  of  the  true  friends  of 
their  country,  threw  the  reins  of  government  into  the 
same  bloody  hands  that  had  so  long  and  so  disgrace- 
fully held  them,  and  led  the  way  to  commotions,  of 
whicli  no  human  prudence  can  possibly  foresee  the 
event." 

A  public  fast  having  been  directed  to  be  observed  in 
the  year  1803,  Dr.  Parr  took  this  occasion  of  expressing 
his  sentiments  upon  political  affairs,  in  a  sermon  which 
he  preached  in  the  parish  church  of  Hatton.  In  this 
discourse,  a  copy  of  which  he  presented  to  Mr.  Roscoe, 
he  sketches,  with  his  usual  power,  the  character  of  a 
patriot ;  and  denounces  those  who  profane  that  hallowed 
name  to  the  purposes  of  ambition,  avarice,  and  national 
or  individual  ])nde.  This  ])ublicali()n  drew  from  Mr. 
Roscoe  a  long  and  interesting  critique,  in  the  form  of  a 
letter,  addressed  to  Dr.  Parr;  to  whom,  however,  as 
appears  from  a  memorandum  made  ujion  it,  it  was  never 
sent.  The  following  extract  from  this  letter  might  al- 
most be  supposed  to  have  been  addressed,  not  by  the 
politician  to  the  divine,  l)ut  by  the  divine  to  the  poli- 
tician :  — 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  221 

''  From  these  sentiments  you  will  perceive,  that  al- 
though I  agree  with  you  in  your  definition  of  patriotism, 
and  in  the  inferences  you  draw  from  it,  as  to  the  indis- 
pensable duty  and  necessity  of  a  vigorous  and  national 
defence,  yet  I  conceive  this  is  not  the  only  form  in  which 
the  efforts  of  a  true  patriot  may  at  present  be  displayed. 
You  have  well  observed,  that  our  patriotism  must  not 
be  confined  to  the  endurance  of  pain,  or  the  surrender 
of  life  itself;  and  if  ever  there  was  an  occasion  on  which 
efforts  of  an  extraordinary  nature  were  called  for,  it  is  at 
the  moment  when  two  nations  are  whettins;  the  sword 
against  each  other,  and  commencing  a  career  of  horror 
and  of  bloodshed,  of  which  no  human  power  can  foresee 
the  consequences.  Every  pretended  patriot,  every  proud 
and  ignorant  individual,  can  cry  out  for  war,  and  urge 
on  his  neighbour  to  the  work  of  destruction ;  but  where 
is  the  man  who  will  oppose  himself  to  the  national  mad- 
ness ?  Who  will  point  out  to  both  countries  the  absur- 
dity of  a  contest,  which  has  no  adequate  or  even  rational 
object  in  view  ?  Who  will  propose,  in  the  very  moment 
of  exasperation,  measures  of  conciliation  and  of  peace  ; 
and  sacrifice  himself  in  the  public  opinion,  in  the  hope, 
however  remote,  of  rendering  to  his  country,  and  to  al- 
most all  mankind,  a  real  and  effectual  service  ?  He  who 
would  dare  to  attempt  this  is  indeed  a  patriot.  He  who 
should  succeed  in  it  would  entitle  himself  to  the  gratitude 
and  applause  of  all  future  times. 

"  You  will  not,  I  am  sure,  conceive,  that  in  stating 
these  sentiments  I  consider  myself  as  advancing  any 
thing  in  which  I  believe  you  would  not  readily  concur. 
They  are,  I  flatter  myself,  too  much  in  the  spirit  of  the 
excellent  discourse,  which  has  given  rise  to  them,  to 
meet  with  any  great  opposition  from  you.  But  I  should 
have  been  truly  happy  to  have  seen  them  more  fully 
19* 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

recommended  and  enforced  in  the  same  energetic  lan- 
guage, and  with  the  same  convincing  arguments,  that 
distinguish  the  whole  of  your  sermon. 

*'  Surely,  whilst  we  are  vigilant  in  our  defence,  we 
may  keep  our  hearts  free  from  that  rancour  and  malevo- 
lence which  shut  out  all  prospect  and  all  hope  of  recon- 
ciliation ;  and  if  we  cannot  attain  to  the  Christian  virtue 
of  loving  our  enemies,  we  may  at  least  guard  against  that 
diaholicul  s])irit  of  animosity,  which  renders  mankind 
more  ferocious  than  wild  beasts.  Notwithstanding  the 
present  exasperation,  which  has  been  so  artfully  and 
wickedly  excited  between  the  two  countries,  opportuni- 
ties will  occur  when  the  breathings  of  a  more  temperate 
spirit  will  prevail ;  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  it  is  cer- 
tainly the  duty  of  every  true  friend  to  his  country.  After 
all  the  outcry  that  our  liberties  are  in  danger,  from  the 
measures  adopted  by  tlic  French  tyrant  on  the  Continent, 
I  fear  we  are  in  more  danger  from  ourselves,  than  from 
all  otlier  nations  upon  earth." 

It  was  not  until  llie  spring  of  1806  that  Mr.  Roscoe 
had  the  satisfaction  of  becoming  personally  acquainted 
^vith  Dr.  Parr,  and  of  enjoying  his  society  for  some  days 
at  Allerton.  This  visit,  which  confirmed  the  friendship 
created  by  their  literary  intercourse,  is  mentioned  by 
Dr.  Parr  in  the  following  short  letter,  with  his  usual 
strong  expression  of  feeling :  — ■ 

"  Dear  Mr.  Roscoe, 
"  I  am  now  in  my  sixtieth  year.  I  have  conversed 
witli  the  wisest  and  most  learned  of  my  contemporaries, 
and  I  say  to  you  with  great  sincerity,  that  the  days  I 
spent  witli  you,  and  your  family,  were  amongst  the  liap- 
piest  days  of  my  life.  I  shall  remember  you ;  I  shall 
esteem  you  ;  I  sliall  praise  you  ;  I  shall  bless  you,  one 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  223 

and  all,  again  and  again.  Yes,  dear  Sir,  I  am  thankful 
to  Heaven  for  granting  me  such  an  intellectual  and  such 
a  moral  repast.  I  shall  again  be  thankful,  if  I  am  per- 
mitted again  to  see  you,  and  your  wife^  and  your  chil- 
dren." 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


1805. 


Historios  of  the  ago  of  Leo  X.,  Paulus  Jovius,  Fnbroni.  —  Collins's 
projected  history.  —  Wharton.  —  llobeitson.  —  ISIr.  lloscoo  urtred 
to  luuK'rIake  it.  —  Letters  to  Lord  Bristol  niul  Lt)rd  Holland. — 
Motives  which  inlluenced  Mr.  Koscoe. —  Proirrcss  ot"  the  \vi>rk. — 
Materials  procured  by  Lord  Holland  —  letter  to  him. —  Assistance 
rcndereil  by  tlie  Italian  scholars.  —  Mr.  Jolinson's  ofter  —  cor- 
respondence with  hiui  —  documents  procured  throuoh  him.  —  In- 
formation obtained  at  Paris  by  the  llev.  NVilliani  Shepherd.  — 
Letter  to  Fabroni.  —  The  j)roirress  of  the  work  interrui>te(i. —  Son- 
net. —  Letter  to  Dr.  Smith.  —  Publication  of  the  work.  —  Letter  to 
President  Jelferson,  and  answer.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Smith. —  I^etter 
from  Mr.  J.  C.  Walker,   and  answer.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Mathias. 

—  Other  opinions  in  favour  of  the  work.  —  Sonnet  by  Mr.  Huyley. 

—  Letters  to  Lord  St.  Vincent  and  to  Dr.  Parr.  —  Criticisms  upon 
tlie  work  in  the  Edinburtrh  Review  —  in  other  publications.  —  Mr. 
Roscoe's  feelinjrs  on  the  occasion  —  his  answer  to  the  Fiilinburn-h 
reviewers  in  the  preface  to  the  second  edititni.  —  Letter  to  Pro- 
fessor Smyth. —  Prepares,  but  d(n>s  not  publish,  an  answer  to  his 
critics.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Mathias. —  Reception  of  the  work 
abroad  —  in  CJermany  —  is  translated  there  —  is  translated  in  Italy 
by  Count  Rossi  —  French  translation  —  American  edition.  —  Ktiect 
of  liis  literary  labours  on  the  health  of  Mr.  Roscoe.  —  Letters  to 
Fuseli  and  Lord  Ruchan. 

TiiK  nijc  of  Leo  X.,  fiM-tile  as  it  was  In  biilliant  events, 
and  illustiated  by  the  revival  of  letters  and  arts  in  Eu- 
rope, was  h)nir  ere  it  found  an  historian.  The  life  of 
the  pontiif  liad,  indeed,  been  written  by  Paidus  Jovius, 
])ut  not  iij)()n  the  extended  seale  demanded  by  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  a^ain,  alter  the  lapse  of  two  centuries,  by  the 
learned  l'\djroni.     JJut  neither  of  these  works,  however 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  225 

valuable  as  pieces  of  insulated  biography,  conveyed  an 
adequate  idea  either  of"  tiie  pohucal  or  of  the  literary 
history  of  that  period.  Such  a  work  had,  indeed,  been 
meditated  by  several  individuals,  hut  it  does  not  appear 
that  any  pro<:^ress  was  ever  made  in  the  design.  Collins 
the  poet,  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  is  said 
to  have  published  proposals  for  such  a  history,  —  a 
project  referred  to  by  Dr.  VVarton,  in  his  "  Essay  on 
the  Life  and  Writin'is  of  Pope;"  and  inentionc-d  also 
by  Dr.  .Johnson,  \vith  the  observation  that  probably  not 
a  page  of  the  history  was  ever  written.*  The  design 
was  revived,  after  the  death  of  Collins,  by  Dr.  Warton, 
in  conjunction  with  some  of  his  learned  and  accom- 
plished friends.  "  In  a  conversation,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,f 
"  which  I  had  the  pleasure  of  enjoying  with  Dr.  War- 
ton,  in  the  year  1797,  the  progress  made  in  an  under- 
taking which  had  been  so  long  announced  to  the  public 
became  an  object  of  my  enquiry.  By  him  I  was  in- 
formed that  it  had  been  the  intention  of  himself,  his 
brother,  and  several  of  their  literary  friends,  to  give  a 
history  of  the  revival  of  letters,  not  only  in  Italy,  but  in 
the  principal  countries  of  Europe,  and  that  the  history 
of  English  poetry  by  Mr.  Tliomas  Warton  was  only  a 

*  It  appears,  however,  from  a  communication  made  by  the  late 
Mr.  Hayley  to  Mr.  Roscoe,  that  Collins  had  proceeded  so  far  as  to 
prepare  a  preliminary  dissertation  to  his  work.  *'  Though  the  coun- 
trymen of  the  poet  Collins,"  says  Mr.  Hayley,  "  must  ever  lament 
his  calamity,  they  have  now  no  reason  to  regret  that  his  projected 
history  of  Leo  was  never  completed,  —  a  work  towards  which  he 
had  made  a  greater  advance  than  his  friends,  the  Wartons  and 
Johnson,  imagined  ;  for  one  of  my  early  companions  informed  me 
that  an  elder  brother  of  his  (intimate  with  Collins)  had  iieard  him 
read  a  preliminary  discourse  of  great  merit,  which  he  intended  to 
prefix  to  the  work  in  question.  I  have  reason  to  believe  the  dis- 
course I  speak  of  is  irrecoverably  lost." 

t  Preface  to  the  ''  Life  of  Leo  X." 


226  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

part  of  this  great  design.  When  we  advert  to  the  va- 
rious and  excellent  critical  productions  of  these  liberal 
and  learned  brothers,  and  consider,  that  amongst  the 
names  of  their  coadjutors  would  probably  have  been 
found  those  of  West,  of  Walpole,  of  Mason,  and  of 
Gray,  we  cannot  sufficiently  lament  the  want  of  public 
encouragement,  which  was,  in  all  probability,  the  chief 
cause  which  prevented  this  noble  and  extensive  under- 
taking from  being  carried  into  complete  execution."  At 
a  later  "period,  the  history  of  the  revival  of  learning  was 
suggested  to  the  attention  of  Dr.  Robertson,  but  that 
accomplished  writer  does  not  appear  to  have  encouraged 
the  idea. 

Other  writers,  amongst  whom  may  be  mentioned  the 
author  of  the  History  of  the  League  of  Cambray,  and 
Gordon,  in  his  Lives  of  Alexander  VL  and  Caesar  Borgia, 
had  illustrated  the  political  events  of  this  period ;  while 
its  literary  history  had  been  treated  of  in  the  invaluable 
pages  of  Tiraboschi,  and  of  Mazzuchelli,  but  no  adequate 
history  had  yet  been  given  of  the  Age  of  Leo  X. 

To  Mr.  Roscoe  this  subject  had  been  suggested  from 
various  quarters,  immediately  after  the  publication  of  the 
^  Life  of  Lorenzo.'  He  was  strongly  urged  to  the  under- 
taking, both  by  Lord  Orford  and  Lord  Bristol;  but  it 
was  some  time  before  he  resolved  to  en^ao^e  in  a  work 
SO  laborious.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  latter  noble- 
man, in  the  month  of  April,  1797,  he  says,  ''Your  Lord- 
ship's recommendation  to  mc  to  continue  my  narrative 
throui^di  tlie  age  of  Leo  X.  is  certainly  entitled  to  great 
attention,  and  will  have  considerable  weight  in  any  deter- 
mination 1  may  form  in  that  respect.  But  the  success 
of  such  an  undertaking  would  not  rest  on  myself  alone. 
Whatever  value  my  former  work  possesses  cliiefly  arises, 
as  your  Lordship   is  well  aware,   from   the    documents 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  227 

which  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  obtain  ;  and  to 
retail  amongst  my  comitrymen  a  compound,  elaborated 
from  the  works  of  Jovius,  or  even  the  collections  of 
Muratori,  and  the  Histories  of  Guicciardini,  he,  would 
not,  I  confess,  gratify  the  literary  ambition  even  of  so 
humble  an  author  as  myself." 

To  Lord  Holland,  who  had  liberally  offered  his  ser- 
vices, in  procuring  from  Italy  any  original  documents 
which  might  be  useful  in  throwing  new  light  on  the  Life 
and  Age  of  Leo  X.,  Mr.  Roscoe  says,  "  It  has  been 
suggested  to  me  that  a  further  prosecution  of  the  subject 
which  has  already  been  the  object  of  my  research,  and 
an  extension  of  it  through  the  Life  of  Leo  X.,  might  not 
be  uninteresting  to  the  public ;  and  it  is  certain  that  I 
am  not  unprepared  with  considerable  materials  for  this 
purpose.  But  the  great  extent  of  such  a  work,  the  diffi- 
culty of  obtaining  original  materials  to  give  a  sufficient 
degree  of  novelty,  and  the  devotion  of  time  which  it 
will  unavoidably  require,  have  hitherto  made  me  hesitate 
on  the  expediency  of  such  an  undertaking.  The  infor- 
mation in  your  note,  of  the  favourable  idea  entertained, 
by  learned  and  well-informed  Italians,  of  my  former  ex- 
ertions, and  the  generous  and  unexpected  offers  of  assist- 
ance in  the  acquisition  of  materials  towards  a  further 
extension  of  the  work,  are  powerful  inducements  with 
me  to  engage  in  such  an  undertaking ;  and  should  I 
eventually  adopt  this  resolution,  I  shall  avail  myself  of 
your  Lordship's  recommendation  to  Fabroni,  with  the 
hope  that  you  will  excuse  the  trouble  I  may  then  be 
under  the  necessity  of  giving  you." 

The  motives  which  influenced  Mr.  Roscoe  in  the  de- 
cision to  which  he  ultimately  came,  are  adverted  to  in 
his  preface  to  the  "  Life  of  Leo."  "  The  same  con- 
siderations which  have  deterred  others  from  engaging  in 


228  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

SO  laborious  and  hazardous  an  attempt,  would,  in  all 
probability,  have  produced  a  similar  effect  on  myself, 
had  1  not  been  led,  by  imperceptible  degrees,  to  a  situa- 
tion in  which  I  could  scarcely,  with  either  propriety  or 
credit,  have  declined  the  task. 

"  The  history  of  the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,' 
the  father  of  Leo  X.,  had  opened  the  way  to  a  variety 
of  researches,  not  less  connected  with  the  events  of  the 
ensuing  period,  than  with  those  of  the  times  for  which 
they  were  immediately  intended,  and  even  that  work 
was  considered  by  many,  perhaps  not  unjustly,  as  only 
the  vestibule  to  a  more  spacious  building,  which  it  would 
be  incumbent  on  the  author  at  some  future  period  to 
complete.  Since  that  publication,  the  friendship  and 
liberality  of  several  distinguished  characters,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  have  supplied  me  with  many  valuable 
communications  and  original  documents,  which,  without 
their  countenance  and  favour,  it  would  not  have  been  in 
my  power  to  obtain.  To  have  withheld  these  materials 
from  the  public,  would  have  defeated  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  communicated ;  and  to  have  shrunk 
from  the  task  under  such  circumstances,  would  have 
given  occasion  for  a  construction  almost  as  unfavourable 
to  myself  as  the  failure  of  success.  These  reflections 
have  induced  me,  amidst  the  constant  engagements  of 
an  active  life,  to  persevere  in  an  undertaking  which  has 
occasionally  called  for  exertions  beyond  what  my  time, 
my  talents,  or  my  health,  could  always  supply  ;  and  I 
now  submit  to  the  public  the  result  of  the  labours  of 
many  years,  in  the  best  form  in  which,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, it  has  been  in  my  power  to  offer  it  to  their 
acceptance." 

The  additional  leisure  afforded  to  Mr.  Roscoe  by  his 
retirement  from  business  powerfully  seconded  these  con- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  229 

siderations,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  year  1798  he 
began  to  apply  himself  sedulously  to  his  new  labours. 
For  these  he  was  partially  prepared  by  the  researches 
which  the  "  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici"  had  demand- 
ed ;  and  to  the  kindness  of  Lord  Holland  he  was  in- 
debted for  the  first  supply  of  original  materials  from  the 
archives  of  Florence.  "  I  have  received  letters  from 
Florence,"  says  his  Lordship,  in  a  letter  dated  the  ]  2th 
of  December,  1798,  "  in  answer  to  your  requests,  and 
have  every  reason  to  hope  that  the  business  will  be 
pursued  with  as  much  diligence  as  possible.  The  person 
who  has  undertaken  to  copy  the  manuscripts  is  highly 
flattered  with  the  commission,  and  the  Grand  Duke  has 
been  so  good  as  to  facilitate  his  undertaking,  by  allowing 
him  access  at  all  times  to  the  library,  and  by  promising 
him  any  assistance  he  may  require.  Mr.  Penrose  in- 
tended to  return  to  Florence,  in  a  few  days  after  he 
received  my  letter,  and  has  engaged  to  superintend  the 
ti'anscription,  as  well  as  to  make  all  possible  enquiries 
about  the  manuscripts  at  Rome,  which,  however,  were 
always  in  a  very  confused  state,  and  a  great  part  of 
which  have  been  either  removed  or  destroyed  by  the 
French.  At  any  rate,  I  confide  in  Mr.  Penrose  making 
all  the  exertions  possible,  as  he  is  too  much  a  man  of 
letters  and  taste  not  to  contribute  all  in  his  power  for 
the  purpose  of  inducing  you  to  favour  the  public  with 
another  historical  work." 

The  manuscripts  thus  procured  consisted  of  a  series 
of  letters  and  papers,  forming  two  folio  volumes,  and 
illustrating,  in  a  very  copious  manner,  the  early  history 
of  the  Pontiff.  "  For  this  valuable  collection,"  says  Mr. 
Roscoe,  in  the  preface  to  the  '  Life  of  Leo,'  "  I  am 
indebted  to  the  oblio-ins;  and  disinterested  interference  of 
a  nobleman,  who  adds  dignity  to  his  station,  not  only  by 

VOL.  1.  20 


230  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

tlie  firm  and  consistent  tenour  of  his  public  conduct,  but 
by  his  encouragement  of  those  hterary  studies  in  which 
he  lias  himself  made  so  distinguished  a  proficiency." 

The  great  scholars  of  Italy,  with  that  liberality 
which  adds  grace  to  learning,  generously  contributed 
tlieir  advice  and  assistance  in  procuring  materials  for 
the  work.  "  In  advertinfj  to  the  assistance  which  I 
have  derived  from  the  city  of  Florence,"  says  Mr. 
Roscoc,  in  his  preface,  "  that  cradle  of  the  arts  in  mod- 
em times,  I  must  not  omit  to  notice  the  favours  con- 
ferred on  me  by  the  late  venerable  and  learned  Canonico 
Angelo    Maria  Bandini,  principal  librarian  of  the    Lau- 

rentian   library   there To   this  eminent   man, 

who  retained  his  early  and  ardent  love  to  literature  to 
the  close  of  his  days,  I  am  indebted  for  the  communi- 
cation of  several  scarce  and  valuable  documents,  both 
printed  and  manuscript,  as  well  as  for  various  letters, 
indicating  to  me,  with  the  utmost  attention  and  minuteness, 
those  sources  of  information  which  his  long  and  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  subjects  of  the  following  volumes 
had  enabled  him  to  point  out."  * 

The  state  of  public  affairs  on  the  Continent,  at  this 
period,  was  such  as  to  afford  Mr.  Roscoe  little  hope  of 
procuring  from  Rome  the  valuable  information  which  the 
archives  of  the  Vatican,  and  the  other  collections  in  that 
city,  afforded.  He  had  also  lost  the  friendly  assistance 
of  INIr.  Clarke,  whose  researches  had  contributed  so 
mucli  to  the  enrichment  of  his  former  work ;  but  for 
this  loss  he  was,  in  a  great  degree  indemnified  by  the 
unsolicited  kindness  of  a  stranger.  When  almost  on 
the  point  of  abandoning  his  work  in  despair,  Mr.  Ros- 


*  Some  of  the  letters  of  Bandini  are  printed  in  tlie  Appendix  (No. 
VIII.)  to  the  illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  231 

coe  received  from  Mr.  John  Johnson,  a  gentleman  then 
travelHng  through  Italy,  the  most  gratifying  offers  of 
assistance.  ''Having  learned,"  says  Mr.  Johnson,  "from 
Signor  Bandini,  that  you  are  employed  in  writing  the 
*  Life  of  Leone  X.,'  I  take  the  liberty  of  informing  you 
that  I  propose  passing  the  ensuing  winter  in  Rome,  where 
it  is  probable  that,  from  my  acquaintance  with  the  Car- 
dinal Borgia,  the  Abbe  Marini,  Prefetto  dell'  Archivio 
Vaticano,  &c.  Sic,  I  may  be  able  to  procure  you  some 
materials  for  your  work.  I  confess  I  should  not  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  writing  to  you,  until  1  had  been  able 
to  give  you  some  efficient  indication  of  my  wish  to  serve 
you,  but  from  the  idea  that  you  could  render  my  re- 
searches more  useful,  by  giving  precise  directions  respect- 
ing any  particular  documents  which  you  might  wish  to 

have  examined I  beg  to  repeat,  that  nothing 

should  have  tempted  me  to  obtrude  myself  on  your 
notice,  but  the  hope  of  augmenting  the  hterary  means 
of  an  author  who  has  given  to  the  world  a  work,  which 
the  literati  of  Tuscany  read  and  speak  of  with  astonish- 
ment and  delight." 

To    this    liberal    and    friendly   communication,    Mr. 
Roscoe  replied  in  the  following  letter :  — 

"  My  very  sincere  acknowledgments  are  due  for  your 
obliging  letter  of  the  first  of  October,  which  should  have 
been  sooner  answered,  had  I  not  been  confined  to  my 
room  by  an  attack  of  nervous  fever,  from  which  I  am 
only  just  recovered.  The  interest  which  you  are  so 
good  as  to  take  in  my  researches  respecting  the  Life  of 
Leo  X.  encourages  me  to  state  to  you,  that,  with  respect 
to  such  information  as  the  archives  of  Florence  can  sup- 
ply, I  am  already,  by  the  assistance  of  Lord  Holland, 
possessed  of  copies  of  letters,  &ic.  which  compose  two 
folio  volumes,  of  upwards  of  300  pages  each.     These, 


232  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

with  such  assistance  as  I  occasionally  derive  from  the 
respectable  Canonico  Bandini,  will  furnish  me  the  neces- 
sary information.  Yet  if  any  thing  should  occur  to  me, 
I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  myself  to  the  learn- 
ed Abbate  Fontani,  to  whose  kindness  I  have  before 
been  indebted,  and  from  whose  very  able  assistance  and 
advice  I  know  I  should  derive  creat  advantao-es. 

"  With  respect  to  Rome,  I  have  not  yet  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  obtaining  any  materials  from  that  quarter,  al- 
though the  Vatican  certainly  contains  an  immense  fund  of 
information  respecting  the  subject  of  my  work.  Your 
assistance  in  this  respect  will,  therefore,  be  considered 
by  me  as  a  great  obligation.  As  my  work  will  contain  a 
pretty  full  account  of  the  pontificates  of  Alexander  VI. 
and  Julius  II.,  whatever  relates  to  or  elucidates  either  of 
their  public  characters  will  be  of  great  use.  With  respect 
to  the  pontificate  of  Leo  X.,  every  thing  that  refers  to  it 
will  be  of  importance  to  me,  — •  whether  it  concerns  his 
political  transactions  and  negotiations,  his  encouragement 
of  literature  and  art,  his  conduct  both  in  public  and 
private  life  ;  in  short,  whatever  has  any  connection  with 
his  history,  or  with  that  of  any  branch  of  his  family.  I 
find,  that  anecdotes  and  circumstances,  trivial  and  unim- 
portant in  themselves,  often  acquire  value  from  compari- 
son wltli  other  parts  of  a  person's  character  and  conduct ; 
and  I  wish  to  collect  all  I  can  respecting  this  pontiff,  in 
order  to  enable  me  to  appreciate,  so  far  as  is  in  my 
power,  his  very  extraordinary  and  equivocal  character. 

#^  JA,  ^  ^  ^  ^ 

•TV  ■TV'  TV*  TT  TP  TT 

"  I  would  not,  if  It  had  been  in  my  power,  have  lost 
a  sin<(le  day  in  replying  to  your  letter,  as  I  shall  send 
the  first  volume  of  my  work  to  the  press  in  the  course  of 
this  winter.     Whatever,  therefore,  relates  to  the  times  of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  233 

Alexander  VI.  and  Julius  II.  will  be  immediately  wanted ; 
but  any  memorials  of  Leo  X.  will  be  in  time,  if  they 
arrive  during  the  course  of  the  next  summer. 

"  The  freedom  which  I  have  taken  will  convince  you 
that  I  place  an  implicit  confidence  in  your  obliging  offers, 
which  are  indeed  made  with  such  frankness,  that  I  can- 
not hesitate  in  availing  myself  of  them." 

The  feverish  attack  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  letter 
was  induced  by  the  uremitting  devotion  with  which  Mr. 
Roscoe  prosecuted  his  biographical  studies,  from  which 
he  was  for  some  time  interdicted  by  his  friend.  Dr. 
Currie. 

The  documents  obtained  from  Rome,  through  the 
intervention  of  Mr.  Johnson,  consisted  both  of  manu- 
scripts and  of  printed  books.  Amongst  the  former  was 
the  fragment  of  an  unpublished  Life  of  Leo,  written  in 
Latin,  and  carried  down  to  the  year  1516.  Amongst  the 
printed  books  were  many  scarce  and  valuable  tracts,  which 
could  not  have  been  procured  in  England.  But  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  Johnson  did  not  terminate  here.  Having  visit- 
ed Venice  on  his  return  to  England,  he  used  his  good  offices 
with  the  celebrated  Abbate  Morelli,  librarian  of  the  S. 
Marco,  and  procured  from  him  a  list  of  books  and  docu- 
ments which  might  be  found  useful  to  a  biographer  of 
Leo  X.  This  circumstance  led  to  a  literary  intercourse 
with  Morelli,  productive  of  much  pleasure  and  informa- 
tion to  Mr.  Roscoe.  * 

The  National  Library  at  Paris  contributed  also  to  the 
materials  for  the  work.  The  Diary  of  Paris  de  Grassis, 
of  which  extracts  only  had  been  printed,  existed  entire 
in  that  collection  ;  and  Mr.  Roscoe  was  very  desirous  of 


*  A  letter  from  Morelli  is  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Illustra- 
tions of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  (No.  IX.). 

'      20* 


234  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

inspecting  other  portions  of  the  manuscript.  "  It  hap- 
pened, fortunately  for  my  purpose,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe, 
in  his  preface,  "that  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1802, 
my  particular  friend  and  neighhour,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Shep- 
herd, well  known  as  the  Author  of  '  The  Life  of  Poijo-io 
Bracciolini,'  paid  a  visit  to  Paris.  On  this  occasion,  I 
scrupled  not  to  request  his  assistance  in  examining  for 
me  the  different  manuscripts  of  the  '  Diary  of  Paris  de 
Grassis,'  and  making  such  extracts  from  them,  in  the 
original,  as  he  conceived  would  be  interesting.  As  no 
one  could  be  better  qualified  for  such  a  task,  so  no  one 
could  have  entered  upon  it  with  greater  alacrity.  Dur- 
ing his  stay  at  Paris,  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time 
was  passed  in  these  researches,  in  which  he  met  with 
every  possible  facility  from  the  librarians ;  and,  on  his 
return,  he  brought  with  him  several  curious  extracts, 
which  have  enabled  me  to  throw  additional  light  on  the 
history  of  Leo  X.,  and  particularly  on  the  singular  cir- 
cumstances attendino:  his  death." 

The  assistance  of  various  persons  of  intelligence  and 
learning  in  England  was  also  freely  afforded ;  and  the 
spirits  of  the  writer,  which  occasionally  flagged  in  the 
course  of  his  laborious  task,  were  supported  by  the 
kindness  thus  extended  to  him.  In  transmitting  to  Fa- 
broni  a  copy  of  the  Life  of  Lorenzo,  he  describes  the 
progress  he  had  then  made  in  the  biography  of  Leo :  — 

"  I  wait  for  your  '  Life  of  Leo '  with  the  impatience 
of  a  traveller  ])y  night,  who  expects  the  moon  shortly 
to  rise  and  direct  his  way.  In  the  course  of  last  winter 
t  sketched  the  first  volume  of  my  work  on  the  same  sub- 
ject, which  ])l;ices  Leo  on  the  pontifical  throne ;  the 
remainder  will,  I  apprehend,  occupy  two  other  volumes, 
and  the  fourth  will  be  devoted  to  the  appendix.  This 
arrangement,  you  will  easily  perceive,  will  require  much 


LIFE     OF  WILLIAM     ROSCOE,  235 

time  to  complete  ;  and  as  I  consider  it  rather  as  the 
offspring  of  my  leisure  than  as  my  occupation,  it  will  be 
some  years  before  I  can  hope  to  lay  my  researches 
before  the  public.  In  the  mean  time,  I  have  been  as- 
siduous, and  not  unsuccessful,  in  my  enquiries.  By  the 
assistance  of  Lord  Holland,  and  of  Mr.  Penrose,  the 
British  Resident  at  Florence,  I  have  received  nume- 
rous documents  from  the  archives  of  that  place,  which 
have  thrown  great  light  on  the  life  and  early  part  of 
the  pontificate  of  Leo  X.  These  I  have  already  em- 
ployed in  a  great  degree  in  my  narrative,  and  I  doubt 
not  your  learned  and  judicious  work  will  furnish  me 
with  much  additional  information." 

Although  for  some  time  after  its  commencement  the 
''Life  of  Leo"  proceeded  with  rapidity,  yet  it  was  sel- 
dom that  the  regular  and  uninterrupted  attention  of  the 
author  could  be  bestowed  upon  it.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  year  1799  the  work  was,  as  we  have  seen, 
thrown  aside  for  many  months,  in  consequence  of  the 
important  commercial  engagements  in  which  he  became 
involved,  and  which  continued  afterwards  to  claim  the 
greater  portion  of  his  time.  He  was  also,  upon  more 
occasions  than  one,  prevented  from  prosecuting  his  la- 
bours by  illness,  induced  by  the  intensity  of  his  applica- 
tion. But  notwithstanding  these  checks,  the  work 
continued  to  grow  under  his  hands,  and  the  labour  of 
years  gradually  approached  its  conclusion. 

To  this  period  may  be  referred  the  composition  of 
the  following 

SONNET. 

"  O'er  the  deserted  waste  of  ages  past, 
As  lone  I  wander,  hover  round  my  head, 
Ye  mighty  Spirits  of  the  illustrious  Dead ! 


236  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Mail'd  Warriors,  laiirell'd  Bards,  whose  fame  shall  last 
Through  future  times  !     For  you  the  gay  repast, 

The  social  circle,  and  the  downy  bed 

1  quit,  and,  by  your  bright  illusions  led, 
Pursue  my  course  ;  or  when  the  wintry  blast 
Sings  o'er  the  heath,  or  Autumn  browns  the  shade, 

Or  Spring  returns  the  face  of  Heaven  to  cheer ; 
Ah,  not  in  vain  my  ardent  vows  be  paid, 
And  may  your  ripening  honours  full  display'd. 

The  dearest  guerdon  to  your  votary  bear, 

For  many  a  toilsome  day,  and  many  a  patient  year." 

The  feelings  of  Mr.  Roscoe  at  this  time  are  described 
in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Smith,  \mtten  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1804. 

''  On  the  return  of  our  honest  friend  Shepherd,  I 
wrote  you  a  hasty  letter,  intending  to  have  followed  it 
by  one  more  expressive  of  what  1  felt  for  your  kindness 
to  him  ;  but  a  most  violent  effort  to  free  myself  from 
the  heavy  task  in  which  I  am  engaged,  and  the  continual 
pressure  of  business,  with  my  journeys  between  AUerton 
and  Liverpool,  have  so  devoured  every  moment  of  my 
time,  that  day  after  day  has  passed  on,  till  the  conclusion 
of  the  year,  without  my  being  able  to  fulfil  my  wishes. 
I  am  now,  however,  determined  to  be  somewhat  more 
my  own  master.  Since  you  left  Liverpool,  I  have  copied 
and  prepared  for  the  press  as  much  as  will  compose  my 
two  first  volumes.  The  remainder  is  in  great  forward- 
ness, and,  if  I  enjoy  my  health  for  a  few  months,  will, 
I  hope,  be  completed.  M' Creery  begins  to  print  with 
the  new  year,  and  promises  to  proceed  with  great  rapidi- 
ty. My  arrangements  with  Messrs.  Cadell  and  Davies 
are  made  to  my  satisfaction  ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1805 
I  am  in  hopes  I  shall  make  my  appearance  before  the 
public  in  the  pompous  shape  of  four  splendid  quartos. 
The  labour  of  corrcctin^^,  &ic.   I  regard  as  nothing,  in 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  237 

comparison  with  that  which  I  have  had  in  the  collecting 
of  materials,  and  in  the  composition  of  the  work ;  and 
hence,  though  much  remains  to  be  done,  I  find  my 
mind  lighter  than  it  has  been  for  some  time,  on  account 
of  the  long  and  laborious  road  that  lay  before  me.  You, 
who  have  so  frequently  engaged  in  important  literary 
undertakings,  will  know  how  to  sympathise  with  a  brother 
author,  in  the  enthusiasm  of  his  pursuit,  the  cheering 
prospect  of  success,  the  apprehensions  of  disappointment, 
and  the  lassitude  of  fatigue  ;  and  will  easily  perceive 
that,  as  the  barometer  rises  or  falls  through  these  de- 
grees, it  is  to  us  writers  the  foul  or  fair  weather  of  human 
life." 

The  long  and  tedious  labour,  which  the  composition  of 
the  work  had  required,  rendered  Mr.  Roscoe,  at  its  con- 
clusion, sensible  to  little  else  than  the  relief  which  its 
completion  afforded.  ''  The  work,"  he  says,  to  one  of 
his  correspondents,  "  was  advertised  for  publication  on 
Saturday  last.  What  its  reception  may  be  I  know  not, 
nor  do  I  distress  myself  by  any  uncommon  anxiety  on 
that  head.  An  author  who  has  been  so  long  employed 
in  preparing  his  works  for  the  public,  resembles,  in  some 
respects,  a  man  who  lias  been  a  long  time  sick,  and 
cares  not  whether  he  lives  or  dies,  so  that  he  be  released 
from  his  trouble.  This  indifference,  however,  does  not 
extend  to  the  particular  friends  whom  I  have  the  happi- 
ness to  know  and  esteem,  and  to  whose  pleasure  and 
amusement  I  should  be  glad  to  think  it  was  in  my  power 
to  contribute." 

At  length,  in  the  summer  of  1805,  the  work,  which 
had  been  in  the  press  upwards  of  two  years,  was  pub- 
lished.*    The  first  impression,  which  consisted  of  1000 

*  The  time  employed  upon  the  composition  of  the  '^  Life  of  Leo  " 
may  partly  be  gathered  from  the  dates  in  the  original  MS.,  now  in 


238  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

copies,  being  double  tbe  number  of  the  first  edition  of 
Lorenzo,  was  nearly  all  disposed  of  soon  after  its  publi- 
cation ;  and  the  most  gratifying  expectations  were  enter- 
tained by  the  author,  with  regard  to  the  success  of  a 
work  wliich  he  looked  upon  as  the  completion  of  his 
former  task,  and  the  termination  of  his  historical  labours. 
"  Although  the  '  Life  of  Leo  X.,' "  he  says,  in  an  un- 
published tract,  "  is  given  to  the  public  as  a  separate 
and  independent  work,  yet  it  is  evident  that  I  considered 
it  as  a  sort  of  continuation  of  my  former  history  of  the 
^  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici.'  The  transactions  that 
occurred  in  tlie  interval  between  the  death  of  Lorenzo 
and  the  election  of  Leo  include  some  events  of  the 
greatest  curiosity  and  importance  in  modern  history  ;  and 
I  was,  therefore,  unwilling  to  pass  over  them  by  a  meagre 
and  uninteresting  narrative.  Let  me  also  confess,  how- 
ever it  may  subject  me  to  the  charge  of  arrogance  and 
presumption,  that  I  was  desirous  of  embracing,  as  far  as 
my  subject  would  allow,  the  history  of  the  principal 
events  in  Europe,  from  the  downfall  of  Constantinople  to 
the  accession  of  Charles  V. :  and  of  thus  connecting, 
although  by  a  link  of  very  inferior  workmanship,  the 
golden  histories  of  Gibbon  and  of  Robertson." 

Mr.  Roscoe,  as  was  his  custom,  presented  copies  of 
his  new  work  to  many  of  his  friends,  and  to  a  few  distin- 
guished persons  to  whom  he  was  anxious  to  show  his 
regard.  Amongst  the  latter  was  Thomas  Jefferson,  then 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  whom  the  volumes 
were  sent  accompanied  by  the  following  letter  :  — 

the  library  of  tlie  Athenosum,  at  Liverpool.  Tlie  date  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  second  volume  is  5th  December,  1800 ;  of  the 
third,  15th  February,  1802;  and  of  the  fourth,  21st  January,  1803. 
One  half  of  his  copywright  in  the  work  was  disposed  of  to  Messrs. 
Cadell  and  Davies  for  the  liberal  sum  of  £2000. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  239 

"  It  is  with  particular  pleasure  that  I  avail  myself  of 
the  opportunity  afforded  me,  by  the  publication  of  my 
*  History  of  the  Life  and  Pontificate  of  Leo  X.,'  of  re- 
questing you  will  do  me  the  honour  of  accepting  a  copy, 
as  a  very  humble  but  sincere  mark  of  the  respectflil 
esteem  and  attachment  of  the  author.  In  thus  venturing 
to  introduce  my  own  productions  to  your  notice,  I  am 
sensible  I  may  be  accused  of  presumption  ;  but  from 
such  a  charge  I  find  a  sufficient  shelter  in  the  reflection, 
that  history  is  the  peculiar  study  of  those  in  high  stations, 
whose  opinions  and  conduct  have  an  important  influence 
on  the  destiny  of  mankind.  I  also  flatter  myself  with 
the  hope  that  the  principles  contained  in  this  work  will  be 
found  in  unison  with  those  sentiments  of  enlightened  tol- 
eration, liberal  policy,  and  universal  benevolence,  which 
have  been  no  less  strikingly  evinced  in  your  practice, 
than  energetically  recommended  and  enforced  in  your 
public  addresses  to  the  nation  over  which  you  preside. 

"  I  have  transmitted  these  volumes  through  the  hands 
of  my  particular  friend,  Mr.  Ralph  Eddowes,  of  Phila- 
delphia ;  v.  ho  some  years  since  left  this  place  to  reside 
with  his  family  in  America,  and  whose  talents,  integrity, 
and  temperate  firmness  would  do  credit  to  any  country." 

"  By  some  accident,"  says  Mr.  Jefferson  in  reply, 
"  which  has  not  been  explained  to  me,  your  letter  of 
June  4,  1805,  and  the  copy  of  your  '  History  of  the 
Pontificate  of  Leo  X.,'  which  you  were  so  kind  as  to 
destine  for  me,  have  lain  in  one  of  our  custom-houses 
near  a  twelvemonth.  The  letter  is  now  received,  and 
the  book  expected  by  the  first  conveyance.  I  pray  you 
to  receive  my  thanks  for  this  mark  of  your  attention ; 
and  I  anticipate  with  pleasure  the  reading  of  a  work, 
which,  for  its  taste  and  science,  will,  I  doubt  not,  stand 
worthily  on  the   shelf  with   the  '  Life  of  Lorenzo  de' 


Medici.'  INTy  busy  ooumn mon  are  as  yet  too  actively 
oceupioil  to  enter  tlie  lists  in  the  raee  of  science.  When 
the  more  extended  iinpro\enient  oi'  their  country,  and  its 
consequent  wealth,  shall  hrinii  them  the  necessary  leisui*e, 
thev  \v  ill  bciiin  their  career  on  the  hi^h  ground  nrenared 
bv  their  transatlantic  brethren,  from  the  da\s  of  Homer 
to  the  present  time.  May  the  ranue  o(  their  tlii^ht  be 
worthy  o(  the  heiuht  lVon\  which  ii  conunences  ;  and  may 
tlie  due  emplovment  oi'  the  talent  jj,iven  ihem  bv  their 
masters  in  that  line  merit  to  thent  the  benediction  of 
*  Well  done,  uooil  ami  faithful  servants  I  '  1  nrav  vou  to 
accept  my  salutations,  and  assurances  oi^  great  respect 
and  eonsidera t ion . ' ' 

To  his  frienil  Dr.  Smith,  3[r.  Roscoe  thus  wrote  on 
iJie  same  cxx^asion  : 

**  1  have  long  intended  to  write  to  you,  but  have  been 
prevented  bv  a  continual  succession  of  unavoidable  occu- 
pation anil  bodily  indisposition,  and  sometimes  by  the 
junction  of  both. 

**  liCo's  reckoninii  is  now  made,  and  be  must  be  sent 
to  his  account  with  all  liis  imperfections.  In  the  course 
of  a  few  days  alter  this  comes  to  hand  you  \\  ill  receive  a 
copy,  which,  from  its  size,  would  territV  a  man  of  much 
less  occupation  than  vourself:  and  which  vou  will  natu- 
i*allv  lav  aside,  till  vou  can  n\uster  courage  and  fnul  time 
to  make  so  formidable  an  attack.  Of  the  reception  of 
lliis  work  I  am,  in  many  respects,  doubtful  ;  but  I  do  not 
suffer  my  apprehensions  to  render  me  miserable.  1  have 
taken  all  the  pains  in  my  junver.  to  make  it  deservim:  of 
tlie  public  notice  ;  and  ha\  e  enileavoured  to  express  the 
peculiar  opinions  which  it  may  contain  with  decency, 
though  with  freedom.  If  all  this  will  not  do,  T  cannot 
help  it  :  nor  would  I  alter  or  suppress  those  opinions,  to 
obviate   censure   or  obtain   applause.     In  one   place  or 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     R05C0E.  211 

another,  I  have  found  an  opportunity  of  expressing  my 
sentiments  on  the  great  subjects  of  pohtics.  morals,  re- 
ligion, and  taste,  as  well  as  on  a  variety  of  inferior  topics, 
which  I  hope  are  not  impertinently  introduced ;  and  by 
these  sentiments  I  am  content  to  be  judged,  so  long  as 
my  book  may  continue  to  be  read.'' 

The  most  flattering  testimonies  of  approbation,  from 
those  whose  judgment  on  the  subject  was  most  worthy 
of  regard,  followed  the  appearance  of  the  work. 

**I  should  perhaps,"  says  ^Ir.  J.  C.  Walker,  ^^  have 
acknowledged  sooner  the  receipt  of  the  inestimable  pres- 
ent which  you  have  done  me  the  honour  to  send  me  ; 
but  the  tmth  is.  I  vras  so  powerfully^  captivated  by  the 
chamis  of  the  work,  that  I  could  not  prevail  on  myself 
to  suspend  the  perusal,  even  to  perform  a  duty  of  grati- 
tude. I  will  not;  however,  delay  any  longer  to  offer 
you  my  warmest  thanks  for  the  rich  accession  you  have 
made  to  my  collection.  I  was  not  entitled  to,  nor  did  I 
presume  to  expect,  so  macmificent  a  present.  I  was 
not.  therefore,  less  surprised  than  dehghted  at  the  receipt 
of  it.  It  has  been  mv  studv  dav  and  night  ever  since  it 
reached  me.  •'  It  is.'  as  ]Mr.  Havlev  observes,  -'a  noble 
vrork.  worthv  of  its  subiect  and  its  author.' 

'•'  I  am  astonished  at  the  immense  mass  of  curious  and 
interestincf  infoiTnation  it  contains,  and  charmed  with  the 
clearness  of  the  arraneement;  and  the  simple  elegance 
of  the  style.  You.  and  your  friend  Mr.  Shepherd,  have 
completed,  in  a  most  masterly  manner,  the  history  of  the 
re\dval  of  letters.  I  hope  it  is  not  true  that  you  do 
not  mean  to  pursue  your  researches  further  into  the  lite- 
rary history  of  Italy.  Such  a  detemiination  would  be 
matter  of  general  recfret. 

'•'  During  the  perusal  of  your  work  it  often  occurred 
to  me,  that  everv  admii'er  of  the  crolden  davs  of  Leo  has 

VOL.    I.  21 


242  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

reason  to  rejoice  that  Dr.  Robertson  did  not,  as  he  once 
intended,  occupy  your  subject.  To  the  pohtical  part  he 
might  have  done  justice  ;  but  in  the  Hterary  department, 
and  in  the  history  of  the  arts,  he  would  certainly  have 
failed.  Robertson  shines  in  the  cabinet  and  in  the  field, 
but  (if  I  may  so  express  myself)  he  does  not  seem  at 
home  in  the  academy.  He  does  not  appear  to  have 
cultivated  with  ardour  what  is  generally  understood  by 
the  term  elegant  literature  ;  nor  does  he  seem  to  have 
had  much  taste  in  the  fine  arts :  *  so  that  his  '  History 
of  the  Age  of  Leo  '  must  have  been  very  imperfect. 
It  is  no  flattery  to  say  that  you  have  proved  yourself 
qualified  in  every  way  for  the  great  undertaking." 

"  I  have  to  thank  you,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  answer 
to  another  letter  from  the  same  correspondent,  "  for  your 
obliging  communication  of  the  opinion  of  your  Italian 
correspondent,  and  still  more  for  that  of  Dr.  Burney,  on 
my  late  publication  ;  there  being  few  persons  now  hving 
whose  judgment  I  should  so  highly  respect,  or  whose 
approbation  I  should  be  so  earnest  to  obtain.  I  fear, 
however,  that  neither  these,  nor  your  own  kind  encour- 
agement, will  induce  me  to  engage  myself  further  in  the 
history  or  literature  of  Italy.     Having  said  all  that  I  had 


*  Hume  appears  to  have  held  tlie  same  opinion  as  Mr.  Walker. 
"As  to  the  Jlge  of  Leo  X.,"  he  says,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Robertson, 
"  it  was  Warton  himself  who  intended  to  write  itj  but  lie  has  not 
wrote  it,  and  probably  never  will.  If  I  understand  your  hint,  I 
should  conjecture  tliat  you  have  some  thoughts  of  taking  up  the 
subject :  but  how  can  you  acquire  knowledge  of  the  great  works  of 
sculpture,  architecture,  and  painting,  by  whicli  that  age  was  chiefly 
distinguished .''  Are  you  versed  in  all  the  anecdotes  of  the  Italian 
literature .'  These  questions  I  heard  proposed  in  a  company  of  lite- 
rati, when  I  enquired  concerning  this  design  of  Warton.  They 
applied  their  remarks  to  that  gentleman  ;  who,  yet,  they  say,  has 
travelled.  I  wish  they  do  not  all  of  them  fall  more  fully  on  you."  — 
Stcicart's  Life  of  Robertson  :  Appendix. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  243 

to  say,  I  feel  not  the  slightest  disposition  to  intrude 
myself  again  on  the  public  notice.  If  my  writings  have 
any  merit,  they  are  certainly  voluminous  enough ;  if  not, 
I  have  already  done  too  much.  Having  so  long  claimed 
the  attention  of  others,  I  shall,  in  my  turn,  willingly 
become  a  hearer ;  and  shall  expect  with  impatience  the 
result  of  your  further  enquiries  on  those  subjects  which 
you  have,  in  some  of  their  branches,  so  happily  illustra- 
ted." 

Amongst  the  various  persons  to  whom  Mr.  Roscoe 
looked  with  anxiety  for  a  judgment  upon  his  labours, 
there  was  no  one  who  held  a  more  prominent  position 
than  Mr.  Mathias  ;  and  it  was  therefore  with  peculiar 
satisfaction  that  he  received  the  following  letter,  writ- 
ten immediately  after  the  publication  of  the  work  :  — 

"  I  feel  a  very  sensible  pleasure  in  possessing  this 
new  and  most  interesting  production  of  your  genius,  your 
learning,  and  your  unwearied  application  for  the  essen- 
tial interests  of  Italy  and  of  this  country  ;  as  it  may  be 
justly  said  of  you,  in  the  words  of  Ariosto  to  one  of  his 
friends  — 

"  Tieni  d'  ambe  le  lingue  i  bei  segreti." 

"  I  have  not  yet  had  it  in  my  power  to  gratify  myself 
by  the  continued  perusal  of  this  great  national  work,  but 
propose,  when  I  return  home  from  an  excursion  I  am 
just  about  to  undertake,  to  have  that  pleasure  and  satis- 
faction ;  the  inspection  of  some  detached  portions  of  it 
have  left  me  con  la  bocca  dolce.  It  is  peculiarly  delight- 
ful to  me,  that  the  Canzone  which  I  addressed  to  you, 
expressing  my  sense  of  the  obligations  which  this  country 
and  Italy  must  for  ever  feel  for  your  unparalleled  exer- 
tions, is  not  forgotten  on  the  banks  of  the  Mersey.  It  is 
also  a  consolation   that   my  boldness  in   attempting  to 


244  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Strike  the  lyre  of  Tuscany,  and  on  such  a  sul^ject,  has 
met  with  that  excuse  I  could  scarce  have  expected. 

"  A  Te  drizzai  il  mio  stil ;  per  te  son  oso 
D'  esser  prime  a  versar  nei  nostri  lidi 
Del  divin  fonte  che,  con  tanto  onore, 
Guslo  di  Paradiso  il  gran  pittore." 

You  will  pardon  my  altering  a  few  lines  of  Alamanni  as 
an  apology  for  my  presumption." 

From  his  publishers  also  Mr.  Roscoe  received  very 
satisfactory  information  respecting  his  work.  ^'  Of  *  Leo 
X.,'  "  they  say,  "  the  accounts  we  have  received  from 
various  quarters,  including  many  of  our  most  respectable 
hterary  friends,  are  of  the  most  gratifying  description. 
Dr.  Gillies,  Mr.  Malone,  Dean  Vincent,  Dr.  Sturges, 
are  amongst  those  who  have  very  recently  expressed 
llieir  high  satisfaction  with  the  work." 

Nor  were  poetical  testimonies  to  the  merits  of  the 
work  wantinoj.  For  the  followincr  sonnet  Mr.  Roscoe 
was  indebted  to  the  muse  of  Mr.  Hayley. 

*'  Joy  and  renown  attend  the  happy  hour 

When  Taste  and  Truth  their  finish'd  task  proclaim 

Their  Enghsh  temple  to  the  Tuscan  name  ! 
Roscoe  !  on  thee  may  all  the  Muses  shower 
Due  wreathes  of  glory,  graced  with  every  flower, 

Worthy  to  crown  their  fav'rite,  skill'd  to  frame 

Tiiis  grand  Pantheon  of  historic  fame, 
Secure  to  triumph  o'er  Oblivion's  power. 
'Tis  thine  departed  merit  to  embalm. 

And  drive  Detraction's  vultures  from  their  prey ; 
Thine  the  historian's,  thine  the  poet's  palm. 

As  Nature's  mirror  we  thy  work  survey. 
Faithful  though  vast !    Thus  Ocean,  clear  and  calm, 

Reflects  each  light  and  shade  tiie  heavens  display." 

*'  I  may  well  rejoice,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  offering 
Ills  acknowledgments  to  Mr.  Hayley,  —  "I  may  well  re- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  245 

joice  in  the  approbation  of  one  of  whose  applause  Gibbon 
was  proud,  and  in  whose  friendship  Cowper  reposed  with 
confidence ;  but  I  am  too  conscious  of  the  defects  of  my 
pubhcations  to  attribute  to  their  merits  that  commenda- 
tion, which  is  more  properly  the  result  of  the  liberality 
of  your  character  and  the  benevolence  of  your  dispo- 
sition." 

Satisfactory  as  were  these  testimonies  of  individual 
approbation,  Mr.  Roscoe  was  well  aware  that  there  were 
portions  of  his  work  which  would  be  received  by  many 
persons  with  very  different  feelings.  The  tone  of  poHti- 
cal  sentiment  prevailing  throughout  its  pages,  and  the 
views  taken  of  the  character  of  Luther,  and  of  the  con- 
duct of  the  early  reformers,  were  little  calculated  to 
conciliate  the  favourable  opinion  of  a  large  class  of  per- 
sons. That  he  was  fully  aware  of  the  hazard  he  ran  in 
treating  of  these  subjects,  appears  from  a  letter  addressed 
to  Lord  St.  Vincent*  a  few  weeks  before  the  publication 
of  the  work. 

"  Your  Lordship's  repeated  kindness  encourages  me 
to  mention  that  a  work  on  which  I  have  been  employed 
for  several  years,  the  ^  Life  and  Pontificate  of  Leo  X.*, 
is  now  nearly  printed,  and  will,  I  expect,  make  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  course  of  two  months.  On  referring  to 
this  period  it  will  immediately  occur  to  your  Lordship, 
that  a  publication  on  this  subject  must  comprise  some 
topics  of  considerable  delicacy,  as  well  in  religion  and 
politics,  as  in  morals  and  literature ;  or,  in  other  words, 
must  involve  those  questions  which  have  given  rise  to 
dissension  and  persecution  in  all  subsequent  times.     In 


*  His  Lordship  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  "  Life  of  Leo." 
"  A  friend  of  Lord  St.  Vincent's,"  say  Mr.  Roscoe's  publishers, 
"told  us,  two  or  three  weeks  ago,  that  the  old  hero  was  getting  up 
every  morning  at  five  o'clock  to  read  Leo  X." 

21* 


246  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

the  account  of  the  Reformation,  I  am  well  aware  that 
my  book  will  give  satisfaction  neither  to  the  Catholics 
nor  the  Protestants ;  yet,  of  the  two,  I  apprehend 
most  the  displeasm-e  of  the  latter.  The  former  have 
been  so  accustomed  to  be  abused,  that  they  w^ill  receive 
with  patience  any  tolerable  degree  of  castigation ;  but 
the  latter,  who  conceive  their  principles  and  conduct  to 
be  above  all  censure,  w^ill  be  surprised  to  find  their  early 
leaders  accused  of  a  spirit  of  intolerance  and  uncharitable- 
ness,  which  has,  unfortunately,  continued  with  but  little 
diminution  to  the  present  day.  Should  your  Lordship 
ever  honour  the  work  by  a  perusal,  I  shall  hope  for  a 
liberal  and  candid  construction  of  my  opinions,  both  on 
this  and  other  subjects ;  assuring  your  Lordship  that, 
however  contradictory  some  of  them  may  appear  to  the 
received  notions,  both  of  characters  and  of  events,  they 
have  not  been  hastily  adopted,  nor  are  they  now  deliver- 
ed to  the  world  without  the  most  serious  and  deliberate 
conviction  that,  if  they  attract  any  notice  whatever,  they 
cannot  but  be  favourable  to  the  cause  of  civil  and  reliirious 
liberty,  and  have  a  tendency  to  soothe  those  animosities 
between  nation  and  nation,  and  sect  and  sect,  which  have 
so  long  afflicted  our  quarter  of  the  w^orld." 

In  a  letter  accompanying  a  copy  of  the  Life  of  Leo 
presented  to  Dr.  Parr,  Mr.  Roscoe  thus  alludes  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  has  treated  the  character  of  Luther. 
"  If  the  matter  should  have  the  good  fortune  to  please 
you,  I  shall  have  less  anxiety  about  the  manner ;  and  I 
flatter  myself  that,  upon  the  most  important  topics,  I  shall 
not  often  be  found  greatly  at  variance  with  those  liberal 
sentiments  which  you  have  frequently  so  well  expressed, 
and  so  eloquently  enforced.  In  appreciating  the  charac-' 
ter  of  Lutlier,  I  have  followed  the  dictates  of  my  own 
judgment,  without  desire  to  flatter  or  intention  to  ofiend ; 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  247 

and  whatever  may  be  thought  of  my  observations  in  other 
respects,  they  will  not,  I  hope,  be  found  to  breathe  that 
narrow  and  sectarian  spirit  which  has  characterised  al- 
most all  preceding  writers  on  this  subject." 

The  anticipations  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  with  regard  to  the 
reception  which  his  work  was  likely  to  experience  in 
some  quarters,  were  fully  realised.  In  the  Edinburgh 
Review,*  although  some  partial  commendation  was  be- 
stowed upon  it,  the  work  was  noticed  in  that  spirit  of 
asperity  which  seems  to  have  been  designedly  adopted  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  that  publication.  "  Affectation  of 
sentiment,  or  of  profound  philosophical  reflection,"  the 
critic  observes,  "  is  not  less  frequent,  or  less  ridiculous, 
than  the  instances  of  affectation  in  style."  The  author 
is  accused  of  prejudice  against  Luther  and  of  partiality 
towards  Leo ;  and  the  aheged  misdating  of  a  letter  of 
the  former  is  adduced  as  a  proof  of  this  assertion.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  Review,  the  faults  of  the  work  are 
summed  up  in  the  following  passage  :  — 

"Upon  the  whole,  then,  these  ponderous  volumes 
have  disappointed  our  expectations  of  obtaining  an  ade- 
quate history  of  the  revival  of  learning,!  —  worthy  at 
least  of  the  importance  of  the  subject.  The  prevailing 
defect  of  the  work  is  a  minute  and  tedious  prolixity,  and 
the  want  of  sufficient  energy  either  of  thought  or  of  style. 
The  accumulation  of  materials  does  not  always  add  a 
proportionable  value  to  history ;  and  an  author  has  learn- 
ed but  half  the  secrets  of  his  trade  who  is  ignorant  of 


*  Vol.  vii    p.  336. 

t  "  The  Life  and  Pontificate  of  Leo  X."  did  not  profess  to  be,  nor 
was  it  intended  by  its  author,  as  a  history  of  the  revival  of  learning; 
a  subject  which,  as  will  be  seen  from  a  letter  subsequently  given, 
Mr.  Roscoe  regarded  as  embracing  a  much  wider  range  than  his 
own  work,  and  to  the  elucidation  of  which  he  did  not  profess  himself 
equal. 


248  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

the  art  of  blotting,  to  which  the  greatest  writers  have 
been  indebted  for  their  succees.  No  labour  can  be  too 
great  to  attain  to  perfection ;  and  if,  instead  of  endeav- 
ouring, in  his  ])reface,  to  extenuate  the  general  defects 
of  his  history,  Mr.  Roscoe  had  transcribed  it  over  again, 
under  the  eye  of  some  severe  critic,  and  had  resolutely 
reduced  it  to  half  its  present  size,  the  remainder,  from 
tlie  condensation  of  the  narrative,  would  have  acquired 
an  additional  value,  when  every  idle  anecdote  or  super- 
fluous incident  was  carefully  expunged,  and  the  redun- 
dance of  sentiment  or  of  diction  retrenched.  As  it  stands, 
the  history  may  please  the  dilettanti,  to  whom  the  me- 
dallions and  verses  are,  perhaps,  a  sufficient  recommen- 
dation ;  but  it  neither  will  gratify  the  general  reader,  nor 
ought  it  to  supersede  any  future  efforts  upon  the  subject, 
when  the  present  edition  has  passed  away.  In  general, 
however,  its  materials  will  always  be  valuable  to  future 
historians,  by  whom  the  author's  opinions,  in  matters  of 
taste  and  criticism,  will  always  be  respected,  and  his 
writings  impress  us  with  one  uniform  conviction  that  he 
is  a  truly  amiable  and  benevolent  man." 

Such  was  the  spirit  in  which  the  "  Life  of  Leo  X." 
was  noticed  in  a  journal  professedly  devoted  to  the  ex- 
tension of  the  same  liberal  opinions,  which  it  had  been 
the  constant  object  of  the  author  of  that  work  to  inculcate 
in  every  page. 

Other  journals  pronounced  a  judgment  equally  un- 
favourable to  the  merits  of  the  work.  The  Christian 
Observer  declared  that  its  author  was  "  uniformly  hostile 
to  Christianity,"  and  that  "  he  had  received  a  retaining 
fee  from  the  Pope  ;"  that  ^'  he  was  afraid  of  apparitions;" 
and  that  "  he  gave  rise  to  a  strong  temptation  to  burn 
him."  The  Critical  Jlevietv  asserted,  that  "  to  approve 
of  the  moral  and  religious  part  of  his  work,  would  render 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  249 

a  person  obnoxious  to  the  Society  for  the  Suppression  of 
Vice;"  and  bestowed  upon  his  style  the  epithet  of 
^^  maivldsh/'  and  upon  the  author  the  title  of  "  IgJiora- 
mus.^'  Nor  did  he  escape  much  better  from  the  hands 
of  the  conductors  of  the  Literary  Journaly  who  discov- 
ered in  him  "  the  victim  of  ill-directed  studies,"  and 
stated  that  ''  a  well-informed  child  of  ten  years  of  age 
might  orive  him  the  he  direct." 

Attacks  of  this  nature  few  writers  of  any  reputation 
have  escaped ;  and  it  would  scarcely  have  been  worth 
while  to  advert  to  them,  had  it  not  been  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  the  manner  in  which  they  were  received  by 
Mr.  Roscoe.  That  he  felt  them,  is  true ;  for  the  sting 
even  of  the  smallest  and  most  insignificant  insect  may 
occasion  some  degree  of  pain.  But  this  feeling  soon 
passed  away  from  his  mind. 

The  charge  of  misrepresentation  and  inaccuracy,  pre- 
ferred by  the  Edinburgh  Reviewers,  was  the  only  one 
which  could  not  be  passed  over  in  silence ;  and  Mr. 
Roscoe  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity  aiforded  by 
the  publication  of  a  second  edition,  to  give,  in  the  pre- 
face, a  full  answer  to  the  accusation.  At  the  conclusion 
of  this  preface  he  thus  notices  the  criticisms  upon  that 
portion  of  his  work  which  relates  to  the  Reformation, 
and  which  was,  in  fact,  the  source  of  all  the  animosity  of 
his  critics. 

"  I  cannot,  however,  finally  quit  this  subject  without 
some  notice  of  the  charges  which  have  been  so  generally 
connected  with  those  before  mentioned,  and  by  which  it 
has  been  insinuated,  or  asserted,  that  I  have  endeavoured 
to  discredit  the  characters  of  the  early  reformers,  and  to 
depreciate  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  Reformation,  as 
weU  by  a  reference  to  the  well-known  persecution  of  Ser- 
vetus,  as  on  other  occasions.     In  answer  to  this,  I  must 


250  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

be  allowed  to  observe,  that  the  idea  that  the  following 
work  is  hostile  to  the  Reformation,  is  a  misrepresenta- 
tion mdustriously  circulated  by  those  who,  under  the 
pretext  of  a  warm  attachment  to  the  cause  of  Protest- 
antism, are  as  adverse  to  all  religious  liberty  as  the  most 
bigotted  Roman  Catholic ;  and  that  whoever  peruses  the 
following  pages  with  an  impartial  eye,  cannot  fail  to 
discover  that,  so  far  from  depreciating  the  beneficial 
effects  of  the  Reformation,  I  have  only  had  to  regret 
that  it  was  not  carried  to  the  full  extent  for  which  its 
promoters  originally  contended.  To  this  I  can  add,  with 
great  sincerity,  that  in  adverting  to  the  persecutions  of 
which  Protestants  have  been  guilty,  my  only  object  has 
been  to  excite  that  abhorrence  of  persecution,  under 
every  form  and  pretext,  which  is  the  surest  safeguard 
against  its  return.  If  it  should  appear,  as  has  been  im- 
puted to  me,  that  I  have  animadverted  with  more  se- 
verity on  the  Protestants  than  on  the  Papists,  it  is 
because  better  things  were  to  have  been  expected  from 
them ;  because  they,  who  asserted  the  right  of  private 
judgment  in  themselves,  ought  not  to  have  denied  it  to 
others  ;  because  they,  who  have  represented  the  cruelties 
and  persecutions  of  the  church  of  Rome  as  the  greatest 
of  her  abominations,  ought  to  have  been  peculiarly  cau- 
tious how  they  gave  rise  to  similar  charges  against  them- 
selves ;  and,  lastly,  because  it  is  more  painful  to  perceive 
a  disgraceful  blot  among  those  with  whom  we  are  nearly 
associated,  than  among  those  w^ho  are  further  removed 
from  us  in  principles  and  opinions.  Hence  the  perse- 
cution of  Servetus,  conducted  by  Calvin,  and  approved 
by  Bullinger  and  Melancthon,  has  been  exhibited  in 
those  colours  which  it  so  justly  merits ;  and  should,  if  it 
were  in  my  power,  be  still  further  raised  up,  as  a  per- 
petual   beacon,  to  guard   mankind  against  the  possible 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  251 

recurrence  of  an  event  which  outrages  at  once  the  feel- 
ings of  humanity,  the   dictates  of  common  sense,  and 
the  rehgion  of  Christ.     It  is  not  on  the  doctrinal  tenets 
of  any  established  church,  whatever  its  adherents  may 
believe,  that  we  are  to  rely  for  the  rejection  of  those 
intolerant  and  persecuting  principles  which  have  for  so 
many  ages  disgraced  the  Roman  See.     '  Luther,  Calvin, 
Cranmer,  Knox,  the  founders  of  the  reformed  church  in 
their  respective  countries,  inflicted,  as  far  as  they  had 
power  and  opportunity,  the  same  punishments  which  were 
denounced  against  their  own  disciples  by  the  church  of 
Rome,  on  such  as  called  in  question  any  article  in  their 
creeds.'  *    To  have  freed  the  human  race  from  the  dread 
of  violence  and  persecution,  in  the  exercise  of  religion  and 
the  pursuit  of  truth,  would  have  conferred  greater  honour 
on    Luther    than    the    enforcement    of   any    dogmatical 
opinions  whatever.     To  his  good  intentions  and  incor- 
ruptible integrity  the  following  work  bears  uniform  and 
ample  testimony :  but  with  the  restraints  of  his  superiors, 
Luther  could  not  shake  off  the  trammels  of  his  educa- 
tion ;  and  his  highest  aim  was  only  to  establish  another 
despotism  in  the  place  of  that  from  which  he  had  himself 
escaped.     In  thus  sanctioning,  by  his  opinion   and  ex- 
ample, the  continuance  of  an  exterior  and  positive  control 
over  the  consciences  of  mankind,  he  confirmed  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  Roman   See ;    and  may  more  justly  be 
said  to  have  shared  its  authority,    than  to  have  invali- 
dated   its    unjust    assumptions.      But    the    principles    of 
toleration  are  derived  from  higher  views ;   from  an  en- 
larged idea  of  the  Supreme  Being ;  from  the  cultivation 
of  generous  and  social  affections ;  and,  in  short,  from  the 
exercise  of  the  Christian  religion  as  taught  by  its  great 


*  Robertson's  Charles  V.,  book  ii. 


252  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Founder,  and  not  as  perverted  by  the  ambitionj  the  ob- 
stinacy, or  the  ignorance  of  his  erring  followers. 

"  I  trust  it  will  be  understood,  that  I  have  not  enirao-ed 
in   the   foregoing    discussions   without    great   reluctance. 
To  malicious  interpretations,  ignorant  cavils,  and  illiberal 
abuse,  I  entertain  the  most  perfect  indifference  ;  but  in 
this   instance    an   error   of  some    importance    has   been 
gravely  imputed  to  me.     I  could  not  expect  that  my 
readers  in  general  should  enter  upon  an  examination  of 
the  different  writers  on  this  subject,  and  a  long  investiga- 
tion of  historical  and  ecclesiastical  evidence,  to  determine 
between   me    and   my   censors ;    and   I   have   therefore 
tliought  it  necessary  to  illustrate  the  subject  by  further 
authorities,   and  to  confirm   the   opinion  which    I   have 
before  advanced.     I  feel  it  a  duty  towards  those  who 
have  honoured  my  writings  with  their  approbation,  not 
to  suffer  them  to  be  depreciated  by  an  unfounded  charge 
in  a  point  of  historical  fact ;  and  a  still  greater  duty  not 
to  relinquish  the  defence  of  those   principles  of  liberty, 
of  toleration,  and  of  truth,  which  I  have  hitherto  inva- 
riably asserted,  and  which  I  shall  continue  to  maintain, 
independent  alike  either  of  censure  or  of  praise." 

In  a  letter  to  Professor  Smyth  he  says,  ''  I  must  not, 
for  a  moment,  allow  you  to  think  that  my  feelings  can 
be  hurt  by  any  of  the  critiques  that  have  yet  been  pub- 
lished on  the  '  Life  of  Leo  X.'  *  *  *  To  say  the  truth, 
I  am  more  sensible  to  your  observation,  ^  that  my  history 
might  have  been  condensed,'  &c.  than  I  am  to  all  the 
abuse  of  the  reviewer.  Yet  I  am  by  no  means  disposed 
to  concede  this  point  without  stating,  in  a  few  words,  my 
reasons  for  the  method  adopted  by  me.  Let  me  then 
be  allowed  to  say,  tliat  I  rather  consider  myself  as,  in 
some  degree,  an  ori^nnal  historian,  brin'nnir  before  the 
public  new  documents,  and  laying  before  them  fidl  infor- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  253 

mation  on  the  subject  which  I  have  treated,  than  as  a 
writer  extracting  the  essence  of  other  historians,  and 
giving,  in  a  few  brilhant  passages,  a  general  result.  On 
this  account,  I  am  sensible  that  I  may  at  times  appear 
prohx  ;  but  if  I  can  give  real  information,  I  shall  be  well 
satisfied,  without  being  considered  as  a  shining  writer. 
If  I  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  lay  a  solid  founda- 
tion, others  may  ornament  the  superstructure  ;  but  what- 
ever may  be  thought  of  my  workmanship,  the  materials 
I  have  furnished  can  never  be  dispensed  with,  whatever 
additions  may  be  made  to  them. 

"  After  all,  if  the  importance  of  the  facts  which  I  have 
related,  and  the  interesting  nature  of  the  topics  of  which 
I  have  treated,  be  considered,  it  will  appear  that  I  have 
dwelt  on  them  very  briefly,  and  that  it  is,  in  fact,  the 
number  and  variety  of  the  subjects  of  which  I  have  had 
to  treat,  rather  than  the  extent  to  which  I  have  carried 
my  discussions,  that  have  extended  my  work  to  its  pres- 
ent length  ;  which,  after  all,  will,  in  the  new  edition,  be 
comprised  (without  the  appendix)  in  four  very  moderate 
octavo  volumes.  You  shall  soon  hear  from  me  again, 
probably  with  some  observations  which  I  have  already 
drawn  up,  and  which  may  be  necessary  to  vindicate  my- 
self from  those  charges  of  inaccuracy  and  inattention 
brought  forwards  in  such  terms  of  triumph  by  the  '  Edin- 
burgh Review.'  " 

The  observations  mentioned  in  this  letter  were  fully 
prepared  for  the  press,  and  contained  an  answer,  not 
only  to  the  strictures  of  the  Edinburgh  reviewers,  but 
also  to  those  of  his  other  critics.  On  a  more  matui-e 
consideration,  however,  he  abandoned  the  idea  of  pub- 
lishing a  defence  of  a  work  which  had  been  received  by 
the  public  with  approbation,  and  by  all  competent  judges 
with  the  most  gratifying  encomiums.     Many  passages  of 

VOL.  I.  22 


254  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

this  unpublished  tract  are  written  in  his  best  style  ;  and 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  subject  was  not  such  as  to 
render  it  worthy  of  publication.  In  the  concluding  par- 
agraph ]\Ir.  Roscoe  has  expressed  his  wishes  with  respect 
to  the  character  in  which,  as  a  writer,  it  was  his  ambition 
to  be  regarded. 

"  With  this  publication,  to  which  I  have  been  reluc- 
tantly impelled,  by  the  just  defence  of  myself  and  my 
writings,  I  take  a  final  and  a  grateful  leave  of  the  public 
in  the  character  of  a  literary  historian,  —  a  character 
which  I  have  been  led  to  assume,  rather  by  accidental 
circumstances,  than  by  preparatory  studies  or  deliberate 
intention.  Having  now  laid  before  them  what  I  had  to 
communicate,  I  have  finished  my  task,  and  return  with 
fresh  ardour  to  the  humbler  but  not  unimportant  occu- 
pations of  private  life.  If  my  productions  should  still 
continue  to  experience  the  indulgence  of  my  readers, 
few  of  them  will  be  inclined  to  deny  that  I  have  now 
written  enough.  If  the  censures  of  my  opponents  be 
well  founded,  I  have  long  since  written  too  much  ;  yet  I 
would  gladly  flatter  myself  in  the  hope  that  my  writings 
may  preserve  some  faint  memorial  of  their  author,  and 
may  exhibit  him  as  the  friend  of  liberal  studies,  the  ad- 
mirer of  whatever  is  excellent  in  the  human  character, 
and  the  advocate  of  truth,  of  liberty,  and  of  virtue." 

Those  upon  whose  taste  and  learning  IMr.  Roscoe 
could  with  safety  rely  encouraged  him  to  receive  these 
attacks  upon  his  writings  in  silence.  "  I  trust  you  will 
long  continue,"  says  Mr.  Mathias,  ''  to  reap  the  satis- 
faction and  honour  which  must  arise  from  all  your  well- 
directed  literary  labours,  in  a  nation  wliich  sliould  be 
grateful  to  you,  and  reject  the  idle  attacks  which  are  in 
vain  directed  against  works  which  are  jiermanent.  If 
you  will  allow  me  on  this  occasion  to  use  some  expres- 


LIFE    OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  255 

sions  in  the  canzone  I  have  written  to  Mrs.  Wihnot,  they 
will  have  additional  force  and  truth  in  my  opinion  :  — 

*  Non  paventar  :  ride  del  volgo  i  scherni 
L'  augel  de'  vanni  eterni 
Di  rugiada  del  ciel  sparsi  e  nudriti : 
Febo  con  alti  inviti 
Per  strada  non  battuta  e  pellegrina 
Piu  d'  un  palma  a  te  largo  destina.'  " 

"  With  respect  to  my  own  works,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe, 
in  his  answer  to  the  foregoing  letter,  ''  to  which  you  so 
obhgingly  allude,  I  can  truly  say  that  whilst  I  retain  the 
favourable  opinion  of  yourself  and  a  few  other  enlight- 
ened friends,  whom  I  consider  as  perfect  judges  of  their 
merits  and  defects,  I  feel  no  anxiety  about  the  censures 
of  such  critics  as  have  pretended  to  decide  upon  them 
in  some  of  the  periodical  journals.  In  estimating  these 
critiques  with  as  much  impartiality  as  the  feelings  of  an 
author  will  allow,  I  find  nothing  of  sufficient  importance 
to  deserve  a  serious  reply,  except  a  charge  in  the  Edin- 
burgh and  some  other  reviews,  that  I  have,  either 
through  negligence  or  prejudice,  affixed  an  erroneous 
date  to  a  letter  from  Luther  to  Leo  X.,  and  stated  it 
to  be  of  the  6th  April  instead  of  the  6th  September, 
1520.  This  charge,  of  some  importance  in  itself,  is 
rendered  more  so  by  its  being  made  the  pretext  of  throw- 
ing a  general  calumny  on  the  historical  part  of  my  work  ; 
and  I  am  therefore  under  the  necessity  of  demonstrating, 
which  I  have  it  completely  in  my  power  to  do,  the  cor- 
rectness of  my  former  statements,  which  I  shall  throw 
into  a  preface  to  the  new  edition,  which  wall  appear  in  a 
few  weeks.  Of  this  new  preface  I  propose  to  print  a  few 
copies  in  quarto,  one  of  which  I  hope  to  have  the  pleas- 
ure of  sending  to  you,  to  be  annexed,  if  you  think  proper, 
to  the  first  edition  of  the  work." 


256  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

The  reputation  which  the  "  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  INIe- 
dici ''  had  obtained  on  the  Continent,  and  especially  in 
Germany,  where  the  translation  of  it  by  Sprengel  had 
become  very  popular,  prepared  the  way  for  the  favour- 
able reception  of  the  present  work.  Soon  after  its  pub- 
lication in  England,  it  found  its  way  to  the  hands  of  a 
distinguished  German  scholar,  M.  Philip  Henry  Conrad 
Henke,  whose  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  revi- 
val of  learning  well  qualified  him  for  the  task  which  he 
undertook.  Having  prevailed  upon  his  friend  Professor 
Glaser,  whose  proficiency  in  the  English  language  was 
well  known,  to  translate  the  work,  he  undertook  to  en- 
rich the  version,  with  a  preface,  notes,  and  dissertations  ; 
and,  in  the  course  of  1806,  1807,  and  1808,  it  appeared 
at  Leipsic,  in  three  volumes,  octavo.  The  manner  in 
which  M.  Henke  executed  his  task  reflects  the  greatest 
credit  on  his  erudition  ;  and  his  approbation  of  the  work, 
after  his  searching  enquiries  into  its  correctness,  is  one 
of  the  stronsjest  testimonies  that  can  be  adduced  in  favour 
of  My.  Roscoe's  merits  as  an  historian.  In  his  preface, 
the  editor  has  entered  largely  into  the  character  of  the 
work,  and  his  criticism  may  be  usefully  compared  with 
that  of  the  English  reviewers.  In  particular  he  has  done 
justice  to  the  spirit  in  wliich  the  Life  is  written,  to  the 
correct  appreciation  of  moral  worth,  to  the  reprobation 
of  treachery  and  cruelty,  to  the  exposure  of  all  mean 
and  grovelling  vices,  and  to  the  uniform  support  of  hon- 
our, truth,  and  virtue. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1816  that  a  translation  of 
the  "  Life  and  Pontificate  of  Leo  X."  appeared  in  Italy. 
In  the  course  of  that  year  the  first  three  volumes  of  a 
version  into  Italian,  from  the  pen  of  the  Count  Luigi 
Bossi,  were  publislied  at  Milan.  It  was  fortunate  that 
the    undertaking    fell    into    hands  so  able,  Count  Bossi 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  257 

being  distinguished  by  his  attachment  to  the  Hteraiy 
history  of  his  country,  and  by  the  success  of  his  own 
compositions.  Like  the  German  translator,  he  added, 
with  industry  and  judgment,  a  variety  of  notes  and  do- 
cuments illustrative  of  the  original  text ;  and  the  trans- 
lation of  the  whole  work  was  completed  in  the  course 
of  the  year  1817,  in  twelve  volumes,  octavo,  ornamented 
with  numerous  plates  of  portraits  and  medals.  Of  this 
translation  upwards  of  2800  copies  have  been  dispersed 
in  Italy,  notwithstanding  the  denunciation  of  it  by  the 
pontiff,  Leo  XII.,  who  consigned  it  to  the  Index  Expur- 
gatorius.  Upon  the  receipt  of  the  earlier  volumes  of 
the  version,  Mr.  Roscoe  addressed  to  Count  Bossi  the 
following  letter:  — 

''  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  letter, 
accompanying  the  three  first  volumes  of  the  translation 
into  Itahan  of  the  '  Life  of  Leo  X. ; '  and  I  assure  you  I 
am  fully  sensible  of  the  honour  done  to  my  work  in  its 
being  thought  worthy  of  being  adopted  into  the  language 
of  that  country  to  which  it  more  particularly  relates. 
This  satisfaction  is  greatly  increased  by  the  considera- 
tion that  those  literary  studies  and  pursuits,  that  have 
been  so  long  repressed  by  the  calamitous  state  of  public 
affairs,  are  again  reviving,  as  well  in  Italy  as  in  other 
parts  of  Europe,  and  that  we  may  hope  once  more  to 
enjoy  that  friendly  intercourse  which  extends  the  family 
of  mankind,  and  is  indispensable  to  their  improvement 
and  happiness. 

"  For  the  favourable  manner  in  which  you  have  spoken 
of  my  work,  and  for  the  attention  you  have  paid  in  giving 
a  faithful  version  of  it,  I  feel  myself  much  indebted,  and 
can  add  with  pleasure  that,  as  far  as  I  have  examined  it, 
I  find  it  rendered  with  sufficient  accuracy  :  —  of  the 
propriety  of  dividing  the  chapters  into  sections  I  entertain 
22* 


258  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

some  doubt.  But  if,  on  the  one  hand,  it  interrupts  the 
thread  of  the  narrative,  on  the  other,  it  may,  perhaps, 
tend  to  assist  the  recollection  of  the  reader,  which  in  a 
very  long  chapter  is  not  unlikely  to  be  wearied  ;  and  in 
this  view  I  feel  reconciled  to  the  alteration. 

"  The  disadvantages  incurred  "by  your  having  com- 
menced your  work  from  a  French  translation  is  a  subject 
of  much  greater  regret,  as  some  of  the  passages  omitted 
ai'e  essential  to  the  course  of  the  narrative,  or  consist 
of  those  reflections  which  naturally  result  from  it.  The 
omission  of  those  passages  by  the  French  translator 
would  be  unpardonable,  were  there  not  some  excuse  from 
the  wretched  state  of  subjugation  to  which  the  press  has 
been  reduced  in  France  by  the  jealousy  of  her  rulers. 
You  have,  however,  done  all  that  was  in  your  power  to 
repair  this  defect ;  and  in  case  your  work  should  be  re- 
printed will,  I  doubt  not,  take  care  that  these  passages 
are  properly  restored,  so  that  the  work  may  be,  as  you 
express  it,  gcnuina  ed  intiera  in  tutte  le  sue  parti. 

"  I  should  have  been  happy  to  have  marked  my  ap- 
probation of  your  labours,  by  complying  with  your  request 
of  furnishing  you,  with  such  additional  documents  as  have 
come  to  my  hands  since  the  publication  of  my  last 
edition ;  but  my  opportunities  of  collecting  additional 
information  since  the  publication  of  my  work  have  not 
been  great;  and  I  am  more  likely  to  be  indebted  to  those 
who  have  done  me  the  honour  of  translating  them,  par- 
ticularly into  the  German  and  Italian  languages,  than 
they  are  to  be  assisted  by  me.  Allow  me,  then,  to  re- 
commend to  your  attention,  whenever  you  may  have  an 
opportimity  of  consulting  them,  the  translations  of  the 
'  Life  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici '  by  M.  Sprengel  ;  and 
that  of  '  Leo  X.'  by  Professor  Glaser,  with  tlie  anno- 
tations of  the  late  M.  Henke.     In  the  prefaces,  disserta- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  259 

tions,  and  notes  on  these  works,  you  will  find  considerable 
information,  and  many  questions  candidly  discussed.  A 
taste  for  illustrating  the  literary  history  of  Italy  has  of 
late  made  a  considerable  progress  in  Germany  as  well 
as  in  England  ;  and  I  trust  this  taste  will  be  still  further 
extended,  inasmuch  as  it  is  certainly  to  the  labours  of 
your  distinguished  countrymen,  whose  lives  and  works 
are  thus  commemorated,  that  Europe  is  chiefly  indebted 
for  the  improvement  and  eminence  she  at  this  day  en- 
joys. 

"  As  a  testimony  of  my  respect,  and  of  the  sense  I 
feel  of  the  honour  you  have  done  me,  may  I  beg  your 
acceptance  of  a  copy  on  large  paper  of  the  '  Life  of  Leo,' 
which  I  have  ordered  to  be  delivered  to  M.  Vittore 
Lanetti,  to  be  forwarded  to  you  at  Milan." 

A  translation  into  French  appeared  at  Paris  in  the  year 
1808,  in  four  vols,  octavo,  from  the  pen  of  M.  P.  F. 
Henry,  and  a  second  and  more  correct  edition  was  pub- 
lished in  1813.  In  the  preface  to  the  latter  the 
translator  says, 

"  Quant  a  ma  traduction,  je  I'ai  retouchee  avec  tout 
le  soin  dont  j'ai  ete  capable,  sans  que  toutefois  je  puisse 
me  flatter  de  I'avoir  rendue  digne  d'un  ouvrage  que  son 
merite  reconnu  a  fait  passer  dans  presque  toutes  les  lan- 
gues  de  I'Europe." 

In  America  the  "  Life  of  Leo  X."  was  reprinted  soon 
after  its  publication  in  this  country,  with  the  omission  of 
the  documents  contained  in  the  appendix.  It  had  not, 
however,  the  success  which  attended  the  American  edi- 
tion of  the  "  Life  of  Lorenzo."  —  "  My  edition,"  says 
Mr.  Bronson  of  Philadelphia,  who  had  republished  the 
Leo,  "  has  met  with  tolerable  success,  though  it  has  not 
sold  as  rapidly  as  I  had  reason  to  expect.  I  have,  how- 
ever, the  gratification  of  finding  that  it  is  highly  approved 


260  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

and  relished  by  men  who  occupy  the  first  rank  of  taste 
and  hterature  in  our  country." 

The  long  and  unintermitted  labour  which  the  com- 
position of  Leo  had  demanded,  produced  its  natural 
effect  on  the  mind  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  and  some  time  elapsed 
before  his  health  and  his  spirits  resumed  their  usual 
tone.  ''  For  my  own  part,"  he  says  in  a  letter  addressed 
to  Mr.  Fuseli  in  the  summer  of  1805,  "  I  am  endeav- 
ouring to  acquire  the  habit  of  idleness.  After  having 
finished  my  work,  the  sudden  transition  from  extreme 
attention  to  a  state  of  comparative  leisure  is  not  easy. 
The  effects  of  that  labour  and  fatigue,  which  I  scarcely 
felt  in  the  eagerness  of  pursuit,  have  now  overtaken  me 
—  the  storm  is  over,  but  the  waves  swell.  I  am  idle 
without  being  at  rest,  and  am  obliged  to  turn  to  other 
occupations  for  relief.  Luckily,  these  are  neither  few 
nor  unimportant.  The  drainage  and  improvement  of 
some  thousand  acres  of  land,  which  I  am  about  to  com- 
mence, might  satisfy  the  rage  of  any  reasonable  man ; 
and  with  this  I  have  other  objects,  as  you  well  know, 
which  require  no  small  portion  of  my  time.  As  an 
author  I  have  taken  my  final  farewell  of  the  public." 

With  the  publication  of  the  "  Life  of  Leo  X."  the 
enquiries  of  Mr.  Roscoe  into  Italian  literature  terminated. 
Further  labours  of  the  same  kind  were  suo-o-ested  to  him, 
but  he  declined  to  attempt  them.  "  The  history  of  the 
rise  and  progress  of  literature  and  the  fine  arts  in  Italy," 
he  says  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Buchan,  "  which  your  Lord- 
ship recommends  to  my  consideration,  is,  indeed,  a  noble 
subject,  but  to  execute  it  would  require  a  fortunate  union 
of  talents,  acquirements,  and  circumstances,  which  it  has 
not  fallen  to  my  lot  to  enjoy.  In  what  I  have  already 
done  I  have  taxed  my  exertions  to  tlie  height,  and 
neither  my  health  nor  my  leisure  would  permit  me  to 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  261 

engage  in  so  extensive  a  work,  or  rather  in  two  works. 
For  perhaps  the  history  of  hterature  and  of  art  should 
each  be  treated  separately ;  and  of  these,  if  I  were  to 
make  my  choice,  I  should  prefer  the  latter.  An  excur- 
sion to  Italy,  or  rather  a  residence  there  for  some  time, 
would  be  an  indispensable  preparatory  measure  ;  but  this 
I  must  leave  to  younger  men,  and  console  myself  in  the 
hope  of  having  shown  that,  in  the  literature  and  the  fine 
arts  of  Italy,  may  be  found  a  rich  and  unexplored  mine, 
in  which  the  intellectual  exertions  of  my  countrymen 
may  be  certain  of  meeting  with  an  ample  reward." 


CHAPTER  IX. 


1806-7. 


Requisition  to  Mr.  Roscoe  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  representa- 
tion of  Liverpool  —  commencement  of  the  election  —  state  of 
parties  —  his  return  —  celebration  of  his  election  —  his  speech  on 
that  occasion —  leaves  Liverpool  to  attend  his  parliamentary  duties 

—  his  feelings  on  his  change  of  situation  —  letters  to  Mr.  Rath- 
bone  and  to  the  Rev.  W.  Shepherd.  —  Mrs.  Roscoe  joins  him  in 
London  —  letter  from  her.  —  Debate  on  the  Slave  Trade,  and  Mr. 
Roscoe's  speech.  —  Letter  to  Mr.  Shepherd.  —  Speech  on  Sir  S. 
Romilly's  Bill  for  subjecting  Real  Estates  to  simple  Contract  Debts. 

—  Dissolution  of  the  Ministry.  —  His  speech  on  Mr.  Littleton's 
motion.  —  Speech  on  Mr.  Whitbread's  Bill  for  the  Education  of  the 
Poor.  —  Parliamentary  patronage.  —  He  assists  in  founding  the 
African  Institution  —  his  speech  on  that  occasion  —  termination 
of  his  parliamentary  career  —  riot  on  his  return  to  Liverpool  —  de- 
clines to  come  forward  again  as  a  candidate  —  his  address  —  ad- 
dress to  him.  —  Letter  from  Dr.  Parr.  —  He  is  nominated  without 
his  concurrence  —  his  address  on  the  conclusion  of  the  election  — 
address  to  the  freemen.  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Smith,  and  answer.  —  Re- 
fuses the  appointment  of  Deputy  Lieutenant. 

Although  from  a  very  early  period  of  life  Mr.  Ros- 
coe had  taken  a  deep  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  had 
manifested,  not  only  by  his  writings,  but  also  by  the  part 
he  had  taken  in  promoting  public  meetings  in  Liverpool, 
the  strong  desire  he  felt  to  render  himself  useful  to  the 
country,  he  had  yet  never  entertained  the  idea  that  he 
should  be  called  upon  to  fill  the  responsible  situation 
of  a  representative  of  the  people.  It  was  therefore  with 
the  greatest  surprise  that,  on  the  eve  of  the  general 
election  in  1806,  he  received  a  requisition  from  a  number 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  263 

of  the  most  respectable  burgesses  of  Liverpool,  request- 
ing him  to  come  forward  as  a  candidate  for  the  represen- 
tation of  his  native  town.  In  the  selection  of  a  person 
to  oppose  the  individuals  who  had  long  represented  the 
r  borough,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Roscoe  were  actuated  by- 
many  considerations.  His  well  known  attachment  to 
liberal  principles  ;  his  long  connection  with  the  town ; 
his  acquaintance  with  business ;  his  celebrity  as  a  writer ; 
and  the  universal  respect  with  which  his  personal  char- 
acter was  regarded,  were  powerful  recommendations  in 
his  favour  ;  while  the  warm  attachment  of  his  numerous 
private  friends  added  zeal  to  the  efforts  of  those  who 
supported  him  merely  on  public  grounds.  On  the  30th 
of  October,  only  two  days  before  the  commencement  of 
the  election,  Mr.  Roscoe  received  the  requisition;  on 
the  following  day  he  issued  his  address  to  the  electors, 
and  on  the  1st  of  November  the  election  commenced. 
The  contest  was  a  severe  one.  Of  the  former  members, 
who  again  came  forward  as  candidates,  General  Gas- 
coigne  had  represented  the  borough  for  ten,  and  General 
Tarleton  for  sixteen  years.  The  former  was  a  zealous 
supporter  of  Mr.  Pitt's  administration  ;  and  had  recom- 
mended himself  to  the  corporation  and  to  the  merchants 
by  his  active  attention  to  their  interests.  General  Tarle- 
ton, after  a  long  alliance  with  the  Whigs,  had  joined  the 
party  of  their  adversaries ;  and  though  he  had  thus  for- 
feited the  support  of  many  of  his  former  partisans,  he 
was  still  surrounded  by  a  considerable  body  of  personal 
friends.  The  party  of  General  Gascoigne,  which  includ- 
ed the  Corporation  of  Liverpool,  finding  the  opposition 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Roscoe  likely  to  become  formidable, 
effected  a  junction  with  the  friends  of  General  Tarleton ; 
in  the  hope  that,  by  spUtting  the  votes  of  their  mutual 
supporters,  they  should  be  enabled  to  exclude  the  new 


264  LIFE     OF     "WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

candidate.  The  friends  of  !Mr.  Roscoe,  considerable  in 
point  of  numbers,  and  distinguished  by  their  respectabihty, 
weahh,  and  inteUigence,  comprised  not  only  the  Whigs, 
but  persons  of  every  shade  of  opinion  attached  to  liberal 
principles.  Thougli  the  ardent  zeal  Avith  which  they 
engaged  in  the  contest  seemed  to  promise  ultimate  suc- 
cess, yet  for  several  days  the  system  of  splitting  votes 
kept  the  other  candidates  at  the  head  of  the  poll.  It 
was  not  until  the  fifth  day  of  the  election,  that  Mr. 
Roscoe  obtained  a  majority  even  on  the  day's  poll ;  but 
an  that  day  it  became  obvious  that  the  strength  of  his 
adversaries  was  exhausted ;  and  on  the  seventh  day  the 
contest  terminated,  leaving  Mr.  Roscoe  at  the  head  of 
tlie  poll,  with  a  majority  of  nearly  two  hundred  votes 
over  General  Tarleton,  and  of  thirteen  over  General  Gas- 
coigne.  When  the  number  of  single  votes  given  for  the 
respective  candidates  was  examined,  it  was  found  that 
General  Gascoigne  had  received  289  ;  General  Tarleton, 
292 ;  and  Mr.  Roscoe,  867. 

Throuo-hout  the  whole  of  the  election  Mr.  Roscoe 
had  been  the  popular  candidate  ;  the  number  of  his  sup- 
porters in  the  town  quadrupling  those  of  either  of  his 
antagonists.  *  His  return,  therefore,  was  hailed  with  the 
most  enthusiastic  rejoicings  ;  and  he  was  chaired  through 
a  greater  assemblage  of  people  than  the  town  had  prob- 
ably ever  before  witnessed. 

The  return  of  Mr.  Roscoe  was  celebrated  on  the  25th 
of  November,  by  a  large  and  respectable  meeting  of  his 
friends,  when  he  took  the  opportunity  of  declaring,  more 

*In  the  preface  to  "  An  Account  of  the  Election,"  published  by  a 
supporter  of  one  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  adversaries,  it  is  said,  —  ''At  this 
period  the  popular  cry  was  completely  in  favour  of  Mr.  Koscoe  ;  and 
to  walk  the  streets  quietly  in  an  eveninjr,  it  was  necessary  to  re-echo 
hiH  name  to  the  innumerable  persons  who  saluted  you  with  it." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  265 

at  large  than  he   had  hitherto  done,  the   principles  by 
which  his  public  conduct  would  be  guided.     After  ad- 
verting to  the  situation  of  the  Continent,  and  expressing 
his  hope  that  the  course   of  events   might   lead  to  the 
accomplishment  of  that  most  desirable  object,   an   lion- 
ourable  and  lasting   peace,    and   after   pointing   out  the 
necessity  of  retrenchment,  he  entered  upon  the  two  great 
questions,  of  the  African  Slave  Trade  and  of  Parliamen- 
tary Reform.     To  speak  of  the  former  in  an  assembly 
where  some  were  present  who  were  still  engaged  in  the 
traffic  was  a  task  of  considerable  difficulty  ;  but  Mr.  Ros- 
coe  did  not  hesitate  to  avow,  in  the  most  distinct  man- 
ner, his  adherence  to  the  opinions  which  he  had  so  long 
held   on   the   subject.      He   contended,    indeed,   as   the 
justice  of  the  case  obviously  required,  that  as  the  trade 
had  been  sanctioned  by  parliament,  and  long  continued 
under  tire  authority  of  the  government,  the  persons  en- 
gaged in  it  were  entitled  to  a  full  compensation  for  the 
losses  they  might  sustain ;  but  he  pointed  out  the  pro- 
priety of  looking  to  other  branches  of  commerce,  and 
particularly  to  the  East  India  trade,   for  an  equivalent. 
On  the   question  of  parliamentary  reform   he   tlius   ex- 
pressed himself: — ■ 

"  The  other  subject,  on  which  I  wish  to  say  a  few 
words,  is  one  of  considerable  moment ;  it  is  that  which 
is  usually  called  a  Reform  in  Parliament.  But  before 
I  proceed,  it  may  be  necessary  to  enquire,  what  is 
meant  by  a  reform  in  parliament  ?  If  by  a  reform 
in  parliament  be  meant  any  alteration  in  the  established 
constitution  of  this  country,  as  it  has  long  existed  I 
in  its  three  estates  of  king,  lords,  and  commons,  then  I 
declare  I  am  totally  averse  to  any  reform  in  parliament. 
I  consider  the  king  as  the  key-stone  of  the  arch  of  the 
constitution,  and  that  if  he  were  taken  away,  the  whole 

VOL.  1.  23 


266  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

must  inevitably  fall  into  ruins.  I  consider  the  nobility 
as  a  body  of  hereditary  counsellors,  adding  dignity  to  the 
crowTi,  and  forming  a  powerful  and  useful  barrier,  on 
many  occasions,  between  the  crown  and  the  people.  I 
esteem  the  House  of  Commons,  properly  purified  and 
constructed,  as  the  legitimate  organ  of  the  public  voice ; 
and,  therefore,  if  any  innovation  be  attempted  upon  any 
one  of  these,  to  that  you  will  always  find  me  a  decided 
enemy.  But  if  by  a  reform  in  parliament  be  meant  the 
purifying  of  the  House  of  Commons  from  all  kinds  of 
bribery  and  corruption,  whether  that  of  electors,  or  of 
those  who  sit  in  that  House,  then  I  am  a  friend  to  reform 
in  parliament.  If  it  should  be  proposed  that  the  elec- 
tive franchise  should  be  granted  to  great  towns,  and 
extensive  bodies  of  men  who  do  not  at  present  enjoy 
them,  then  I  am  a  friend  to  a  reform  in  parliament.  If 
it  should  appear  that  insignificant  and  corrupt  boroughs 
have  from  time  to  time  tainted  the  dignity  of  the  house, 
and  it  should  be  thought  proper  to  deprive  them  of  the 
right  of  election,  then  I  shall  be  found  an  advocate  for  a 
reform  in  parliament." 

The  principles  of  reform,  professed  upon  this  occasion 
by  Mr.  Roscoe,  and  in  a  few  years  afterwards  more  fully 
developed  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  present  Lord 
Chancellor,  are  in  effect  the  same  which  have  since 
formed  the  basis  of  the  great  scheme  so  happily  accom- 
plished under  the  auspices  of  Lord  Grey. 

Parliament  having  assembled  early  in  the  year  1807, 
Mr.  Roscoe,  unattended  by  any  of  his  family,  left  Liver- 
pool for  the  metropolis.  Upon  his  entrance  into  public 
life  he  liad  many  difficulties  to  contend  with.  He  was 
called  away  from  the  active  management  of  a  very  ex- 
tensive mercantile  concern,  u])on  the  prosperity  of  which 
he  was  entirely  dependent,  and,  unlbrtunately,  soon  after 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  267 

his  election,  his  partner,  Mr.  Leyland,  whose  name  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  firm,  and  whose  wealth  contributed  to 
its  stablity,  withdrew  suddenly  from  the  partnership. 
These  circumstances,  together  with  his  separation  from 
Mrs.  Roscoe  and  his  family,  made  his  removal  from 
Liverpool  a  source  of  much  anxiety  and  disquiet  to  him. 
In  addition  to  this,  he  felt  no  inconsiderable  difficulty 
in  adapting  himself  to  the  new  mode  of  hfe  which  his 
public  duties  required.  He  had  gone  into  parliament  at 
a  more  advanced  age  than  is  usual,  and  with  the  weight 
of  much  public  and  private  business  of  importance  press- 
ing upon  him.  The  novelty  of  his  situation  became,  in 
some  degree,  painful  to  him.  He  was  conscious,  also, 
that  much  was  expected  from  him,  which  naturally  in- 
creased his  anxiety.  His  change  of  life  was  far,  there- 
fore, from  contributing  to  his  happiness.  In  a  confiden- 
tial letter  to  his  friend  Mr.  Rathbone,  written  soon  after 
taking  his  seat,  he  thus  expressed  the  feelings  under 
which  he  laboured  :  — 

"  The  rest  of  your  letter,  my  dear  friend,  rather  op- 
presses than  cheers  me,  in  my  present  difficult  and 
laborious  situation.  If  my  friends  have  formed  such 
high  notions  of  the  extraordinary  effects  which  I  am  to 
produce  in  my  public  character,  I  fear  they  will  only 
meet  with  disappointment,  and  that  I  must  reconcile 
myself  to  that  failure  with  which  I  am  so  strongly 
threatened.  Excepting  on  the  first  night  on  which  I 
entered  the  House,  there  has  been  no  debate  on  a  popu- 
lar subject ;  and  though  I  had  some  intention  of  speak- 
ing, yet,  upon  the  whole,  I  believe  it  was  better  on 
many  accounts  that  I  declined  it.  I  find  great  caution 
necessary  on  my  first  outset ;  and  my  present  resolution 
is  not  to  engage  in  any  hasty  or  precipitate  measures, 
nor  to  commit  myself  in  any  way  where  I  cannot  main- 


268  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

tain  my  ground.  For  this  reason  you  must  expect  at 
present  to  hear  but  httle  of  me  in  public;  but  if  on  that 
account  you  tliink  that  I  am  insensible  to  the  great  ob- 
jects of  your  letter,  you  will  not  do  justice  either  to  my 
mtentions  or  my  feelings." 

In  reply  to  a  letter  from  one  of  the  most  valued  of  his 
friends,  the  Rev.  W.  Shepherd,  making  some  suggestions 
with  regard  to  his  new  course  of  life,  Mr.  Roscoe  says, 
"  As  to  the  rest  of  your  cautions,  they  point  not  out  the 
rocks  on  which  I  am  likely  to  split.  Deeper  thoughts 
oppress  and  agitate  me.  I  ruminate  much,  and  do 
nothing ;  yet  I  keep  some  objects  in  view,  of  which  I 
may  say  with  Milton,  '  The  accomplishment  of  them 
lies  not  but  in  a  power  above  man's  to  perform  ;  but 
that  none  hath  by  more  studious  ways  endeavoured,  and 
with  more  unwearied  spirit  that  none  shall,  that  I  dare 
almost  aver  of  myself,  as  far  as  life  and  free  leisure  will 
extend.'  I  shall  only  add  in  the  words  of  the  same 
great  man,  '  Do  caetero  quidem,  quid  de  me  statuerit 
Deus,  nescio.'  Believe  me,  however,  always  most  af- 
fectionately yours." 

In  another  letter,  written  soon  afterwards  to  the  same 
correspondent,  he  says,  "  You  cannot  readily  conceive 
the  difficulties  that  are  to  be  got  over  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  particularly  in  some  minds,  before  a  person 
can  acquire  the  habit  of  expressing  his  sentiments  in  a 
w^ay  to  do  either  himself  or  his  cause  any  credit.  I  cer- 
tainly, however,  do  not  despair  of  attaining  it,  though, 
from  the  state  of  my  health,  and  a  consequent  depression 
of  spirits,  I  have  hitherto  been  deterred  almost  wholly 
from  the  attempt." 

In  the  month  of  February,  1807,  he  was  joined  in 
London  by  Mrs.  Roscoe  ;  and  her  society,  upon  which 
he  always  set   the  highest  value,  contributed   much  to 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  269 

the  ease  of  his  mind  and  the  restoration  of  his  heaUh. 
"  You  will,  I  am  sure,  all  rejoice  with  me,"  he  says  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Rathbone,  "  that  last  night  my  wife  and 
Edward  arrived  safe  in  London.  It  was  once  my  wish 
to  have  gone  through  the  troublesome  task  which  I  have 
undertaken  alone,  without  deranging  my  domestic  con- 
nections ;  but  to  pass  five  or  six  months  in  banishment 
from  my  family  and  dearest  connections  I  find*  is  too  bold 
an  attempt."  As  he  became  more  familiar  with  the  pro- 
ceedings of  parliament  his  confidence  revived,  and  the 
feelings  which  had  oppressed  him  at  his  entrance  gradu- 
ally subsided.  "  By  a  constant  attendance  on  the  House," 
he  says  in  a  letter  to  the  same  friend,  "  I  find  myself 
more  accustomed  to  its  forms,  and  have  made  some  good 
acquaintance.  In  a  little  time,  when  the  election  com- 
mittees are  over,  its  duties  will  be  less  laborious,  and  I 
shall  begin  to  feel  myself  more  at  ease  in  my  new  sta- 
tion. I  have  spoken  three  or  four  times,  which  is,  I 
believe,  as  often  as  any  new  member,  bat  still  find  a 
reluctance  to  offer  myself  to  the  House.  If  the  Catholic 
question  be  discussed,  I  shall,  however,  most  probably 
attempt  a  bolder  flight ;  but  this  will  depend  on  circum- 
stances. My  wife's  presence  has  contributed  to  restore 
both  my  health  and  peace  of  mind,  which,  I  believe, 
had  suffered  before  her  arrival." 

The  favourable  effect  which  a  restoration  to  his  usual 
domestic  society  produced  upon  the  health  of  Mr.  Roscoe, 
appears  from  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  addressed 
by  Mrs.  Roscoe  to  Mrs.  Moss,  her  warmly  attached 
sister,  and  the  invaluable  friend  of  Mr.  Roscoe  and  his 

family :  — 

"  I  well  know  that  Mr.  Roscoe's  health  and  welfare 
are  always  an  object  of  great  solicitude  to  you.  He  is 
now  nearly  well  of  the  nervous  complaint  which  had 

23* 


270  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

assailed  him  from  over-exertion  and  want  of  exercise, 
and  bis  spirits  are  very  good.  Edward  will  have  in- 
formed you  that  he  conducted  us  to  our  lodgings  an  hour 
before  he  quitted  London.  The  situation  is  within  five 
minutes'  walk  of  tlie  House,  and  close  to  St.  James's 
Park.  This  morning,  being  frosty,  Mr.  Roscoe  rose 
from  the  breakfast-table  and  walked  in  the  Park  near  an 
hour  before  he  sat  down  to  his  writing.  I  yesterday 
returned  the  visit  of  a  very  intelligent  woman,  and  had 
a  most  agreeable  interview  witli  her  —  Mrs.  Erskine,  wife 
to  the  Lord  Advocate  of  Scotland.  They  were  both 
at  home  to  us.  We  called  on,  and  saw,  our  excellent 
neighbour  Miss  Ashton  too,  whom  1  hope  to  see  again 
soon.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Roscoe  went  to  dine  with 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  where  were  present  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  Lord  Sid- 
mouth,  and  a  number  more  of  the  very  great.  The 
Duke  pays  Mr.  Roscoe  the  most  respectful  attentions. 
Edward  would  tell  you  of  his  paying  me  a  visit  the 
morning  after  he  knew  I  was  in  town.  You  know  very 
well  how  I  estimate  all  these  things  in  themselves ;  but 
I  never  can  be  insensible  to  any  mark  of  sensibility  to 
Mr.  Roscoe's  uncommon  merits,  and  which  his  own  ex- 
treme humility  keeps  him  wholly  unconscious  of." 

As  the  period  approached  when  the  great  subject  was 
to  be  discussed  in  which,  from  his  earliest  youth,  Mr. 
Roscoe  had  taken  so  deep  an  interest,  his  anxieties 
became  great,  lest  he  should  not  do  justice  to  the  cause 
wlilch  he  had  so  much  at  heart.  Mr.  Rathbone  having 
addressed  to  him  a  letter  on  the  subject,  containing  many 
just  and  valuable  reflections,  he  replied  as  follows :  — 

'^  I  have  received  your  excellent  oration  on  the  Afri- 
can slave  trade,  which,  if  delivered  by  yourself,  would 
jjavc  the  intended  effect  on  the  House.     If  I  speak  on 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  271 

the  subject,  which,  unless  I  am  disabled  by  personal  in- 
disposition, it  is  my  resolution  to  do,  I  shall  probably 
adopt  somewhat  of  a  different  line  of  argument,  touch- 
ing, however,  though  not  so  largely,  on  several  of  the 
topics  in  your  sketch.  If  I  should  be  able  to  get  out 
all  I  have  to  say,  it  would  perhaps  be  longer  than  yours, 
though  I  have  not  committed  a  word  of  it  to  writino-. 
In  this  situation  I  cannot  describe  the  anxiety  I  feel,  lest 
I  should  be  a  weak  and  unworthy  advocate  of  the  great 
cause  which  I  have  espoused.'' 

The  following  report  of  the  speech  of  Mr.  Roscoe  on 
this  occasion,  fuller  than  that  given  in  the  Parliamentary 
Debates,  was  corrected  by  himself  immediately  after  its 
delivery :  — 

"  As  the  colleague  of  the  honourable  gentleman  who 
spoke  last,  and  as  one  of  the  representatives  of  a  place 
where  the  trade,  which  it  is  the  object  of  the  present 
bill  to  abolish,  has  been  carried  on  to  a  greater  extent 
than  in  any  other  place  in  the  kingdom,  I  cannot,  I 
conceive,  with  propriety,  give  a  silent  vote  on  this  occa- 
sion. That  vote,  Sir,  will  be  in  favour  of  the  bill  now 
before  the  House  for  the  abolition  of  that  trade.  In 
giving  this  vote  I  shall  at  least  satisfy  my  own  feelings 
and  my  ovvU  conscience.  But  I  trust,  Sir,  that  I  shall 
at  the  same  time  perform  my  duty  to  my  constituents. 
For  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  people  of  Liver- 
pool in  other  parts  of  the  kindom,  I  must  beg  leave  to 
inform  this  House  that  they  are  by  no  means  unanimous 
in  support  of  the  trade  in  question.  On  the  contrary, 
a  great  and  respectable  body  of  the  inhabitants  of  Liver- 
pool are  as  adverse  to  the  slav^e  trade  as  any  other  per- 
sons in  these  realms,  and  I  should  greatly  disappoint  their 
expectations  and  their  wishes,  if  I  were  not  to  vote  for 
the  abolition  of  that  trade.  After  the  lenojth  of  lime  durinor 


273  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

which  tills  suhject  has  been  considered  by  the  nation  at 
large,  after  the  frequent  discussions  it  has  undergone  in 
this  House,  after  the  present  bill  has  been  passed  by 
the  Upper  House  of  Parliament,  and  is  now  sent  to  this 
House  for  its  concurrence,  above  all,  after  the  full  and 
able  manner  in  which  the  noble  Lord  (Howick),  who 
introduced  the  bill,  has  brought  it  forward,  it  is  perfectly 
unnecessary  for  me  to  discuss  the  principle  of  the  bill, 
or  to  detain  the  House  by  additional  arguments  in  its 
favour.  There  is,  however,  one  argiunent  which  has 
always  appeared  to  me  so  clear,  so  conclusive,  and  so 
short,  that  I  will  venture  to  state  it.  Sir,  the  African 
slave  trade  has  always  subsisted  only  by  an  abuse.  If 
we  place  the  human  race  in  any  fair  and  reasonable 
situation,  if  we  provide  them  with  the  necessaries  and 
accommodations  of  life,  they  must,  by  the  very  law  of 
their  nature,  inevitably  increase.  It  is  only,  then,  be- 
cause the  slaves  in  our  West  India  islands  are  not  in  that 
proper  situation,  and  are  not  provided  with  the  proper 
necessaries  of  life,  that  a  diminution  of  number  continu- 
ally occurs,  and  the  slave  trade  becomes  necessary  to 
supply  that  deficiency.  Now,  Sir,  the  bill  before  the 
House  will  not  only  prevent  the  fmther  prosecution  of 
the  trade  to  Africa,  but  will  also  effect  another  great  and 
beneficial  purpose,  not  contemplated  on  the  liice  of  the 
bill,  —  it  will  immediately  improve  and  meliorate  the 
condition  of  the  slaves  in  the  West  Indies.  For  as  soon 
as  the  planter  shall  be  convinced  that  he  cannot  make 
up  the  deficiency  of  his  slaves  by  purchase,  as  soon  as 
he  can  no  longer  act  upon  the  horrid  maxim,  *  that  it  is 
better  to  buy  a  slave  than  to  breed  one,'  he  will  then  be 
called  upon,  by  a  sense  of  his  own  interest,  to  pay  that 
attention  to  the  comfort  and  accommodation  of  his  slaves 
which  is  so  essentially  necessary  for  their  increase  and 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  273 

their  happiness.  Whatever  apprehensions  may  be  en- 
tertained as  to  the  security  and  welfare  of  our  West  India 
possessions  from  the  present  measure,  I  hesitate  not  to 
assert  that,  in  my  opinion,  it  will,  in  the  result,  be  found 
to  be  the  first  cause  of  the  security  and  prosperity  of 
those  colonies.  I  well  remember  the  time  when  the  re- 
gulations made  by  this  house  on  the  middle  passage 
were  opposed  by  the  merchants  with  the  greatest  warmth, 
as  wholly  destructive  to  their  trade ;  but  it  is  only  a  few 
days  since  that  we  heard  their  counsel  at  the  bar  of  this 
House  admit,  that  such  regulations  had  rendered  the 
trade  much  more  advantageous  than  it  had  ever  before 
been. 

"  In  like  manner,  I  trust  that  the  time  will  ere  long 
arrive  when  the  West  India  planters  will  feel  and  ac- 
knowledge the  beneficial  efifect,  and  will  date  the  true 
prosperity  of  the  British  colonies  from  the  time  of  the 
abolition  of  the  slave  trade.  In  discussing  a  question  of 
this  magnitude,  affecting  so  great  a  portion  of  the  human 
race,  it  is  impossible  to  close  our  eyes  to  that  part  of  the 
world  which  has  suffered  so  greatly  by  the  effects  of  the 
trade  in  question — ^I  mean  the  coast  of  Africa.  I  should 
be  sorry  to  accuse  this  country  as  being  the  sole  cause 
of  the  state  of  ignorance  and  degradation  in  which  that 
immense  continent  yet  remains  ;  but  I  must  be  allowed 
to  say,  that  if  we  have  not  been  the  cause  of  the  evil, 
we  have  at  least  contributed  in  a  high  degree  to  prevent 
its  removal. 

"  When  we  consider  the  nature  of  the  trade  which 
we  have  carried  on  with  that  continent,  when  we  reflect 
that  the  objects  of  our  commerce  have  been  our  fellow- 
creatures  ;  and  that  the  articles  we  have  furnished  in 
return  have  been  chiefly  fire-arms,  ammunition,  and 
brandy,  articles  of  destruction,  articles  of  debauchery,  I 


274  LIFE     OF    WILLIAM    ROSCOE. 

cannot  but  fear  that  we  have  contributed  in  a  great  de- 
gree to  prevent  that  civihsation  and  improvement  in 
Africa  which  might  otherwise  have  taken  place.  That 
this  supposition  is  too  well  founded  may  be  fairly  inferred 
fi'om  the  well-known  fact,  that  the  interior  of  Africa  is 
more  civilised  and  better  cultivated  than  the  coast,  where 
our  trade  has  been  carried  on,  and  where  we  have  kept 
up  that  continual  excitement  so  prejudicial  to  that  unfor- 
tunate country.  It  is  time  that  we  should  remove  that 
excitement ;  and  if  we  cannot  contribute  to  the  improve- 
ment of  Africa,  that  we  should  not  at  least  contribute  any 
lono;er  to  her  calamities  and  her  dea-radation. 

"  But,  Sir,  although  I  think  it  unnecessary  to  enter  into 
a  further  discussion  of  the  principle  of  the  bill,  yet  I 
have  been  well  aware,  that  with  respect  to  its  mode  of 
operation,  or  rather  with  respect  to  the  time  when  such 
operation  is  to  commence,  some  difference  of  opinion 
may  be  entertained.  However  anxious  I  have  always 
been  for  tlie  abolition  of  this  traffic,  it  has  been  my 
uniform  opinion  that  this  should  be  effected  by  gradual 
and  proper  measures. 

"  And  here  I  beg  it  may  be  most  explicitly  understood 
that,  in  speaking  of  gradual  measures,  it  was  never  my 
idea  that  the  trade  should  be  continued  for  the  advan- 
tage of  those  persons  who  are  carrying  it  on.  No,  Sir, 
I  would  not  continue  the  trade  a  month,  a  week,  a 
day,  on  any  such  grounds. 

"  It  was  well  observed  on  a  former  night  in  this  House, 
that  justice  is  due  to  all  persons,  as  well  to  our  own 
countrymen  as  to  the  natives  of  Africa.  I  fully  assent  to 
this  observation.  But  in  the  distribution  of  justice  we 
must  cautiously  distinguish  between  the  rights  of  the 
claimants.  It  would  be  the  height  of  injustice  to  bal- 
ance the  mere   pecuniary  interests  of  any  one  body  of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  275 

men  against  the  lives,  the  liberty,  and  the  safety  of  any 
other  body  of  men.  They  are  claims  of  a  different 
nature,  and  cannot  be  weighed  with  each  other.  That 
justice  is  due  to  the  persons  in  this  country  who  may  be 
affected  by  the  bill  I  readily  admit ;  but  it  is  due  from 
this  nation,  and  not  from  Africa,  which  has  already 
suffered  sufficiently  from  us. 

"  Leaving,  therefore,  these  claims  out  of  the  question 
at  present,  and  regarding  only  the  object  of  this  bill,  I 
must  observe,  that  in  a  great  measure,  of  this  nature 
particularly,  caution  is  necessary,  that  in  producing  a 
certain  good  we  produce  as  little  evil  as  possible. 

"  Sir,  we  must  perceive  how  difficult  it  is  to  legislate 
for  those  who  are  no  parties  to  our  deliberations. 

"  I  certainly  am  not  without  apprehensions  that  if  this 
trade  had  been  terminated  by  a  sudden  and  immediate 
act,  it  might  hav^e  been  productive  of  dreadful  conse- 
quences on  the  coast  of  Africa,  where  there  is  a  great 
conflux  of  slaves,  whose  numbers  might  accumulate,  and 
who,  from  the  sudden  and  total  cessation  of  the  trade, 
might  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  avarice  or  resentment  of  their 
owners.  Before  I  left  Liverpool,  to  have  the  honour  of 
taking  my  place  in  this  House,  I  thought  it  necessary  to 
make  a  particular  inquiry  on  this  subject  from  a  person 
well  conversant  with,  and  who  had  frequently  visited 
different  parts  of  the  coast.  From  him  I  learnt,  that  at 
Angola,  and  other  places  on  the  southern  parts  of  the 
coast,  slaves  were  brought  down  in  scanty  numbers,  and, 
consequently,  little  danger  was  to  be  apprehended  from 
the  immediate  termination  of  the  trade  ;  but  tliat  on  the 
more  northern  parts,  and  particularly  at  Bonny,  the 
slaves  are  brought  down  in  great  numbers,  being  carried 
from  the  interior  parts  of  the  country  for  four,  five,  or 
six   months,   and    that   there   some   fatal   consequences 


276  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

might  ensue  if  precautions  were  not  taken  against  them. 
It  was,  however,  his  opinion,  that  a  period  of  six,  or  at 
most  nine  months,  would  be  a  sufhcient  notice  for  ter- 
minating the   trade ;  and   as  this  space  of  time  will  be 
aftbrded  by  the  present  bill,   I  shall  cheerfully  assent  to 
it  as  it  now  stands,  and  do  conceive  that  as  the  trade  has 
been  gradually  narrowed  by  the  regulations  adopted  by 
this  House,  and  as  some  fiulher  time  is  yet  allowed  by 
the  bill  for  its  final  termination,  the  friends  of  a  gradual  j 
abolition  ought  now  to  unite  with  the  promoters  of  the  1 
present  bill,  in  carrying  this  great  and  beneficent  meas-  ' 
ure  into  full  effect.  ^ 

"  And  now.  Sir,  as  to  the  question  of  compensation  to  I 
those  persons  who  may  be  injured  by  the  effects  of  the  i 
present  measure,  I  cannot   entertain   a   doubt  that  this  ; 
House  will  be  earnest  to   distribute  justice  in  its  proper  I 
degree  to  all  who  are  entitled  to  it.     The  trade  in  ques-  ' 
tion  has  been  long  carried  on  with  the   concurrence  of  \ 
the  country,  and   under  the  sanction  of  the  legislature,  ' 
and   has,  till   the   present  time,  been  thought  indispen-  i 
sably  necessary  to  the  cultivation  and  possession  of  our 
colonial  possessions.     If,  then,  it  should  hereafter  appear, 
that  the  persons  engaged  in  carrying  it  on  should  sustain  i 
an  actual  loss  by  the  operation  of  this  bill,  —  not  a  loss   I 
of  eventual  or  prospective  profits,  which  they  might  have 
derived   from  continuing   to  carry   on   the   trade   (for  to 
such  a  claim  it  w^ould  be  absurd  to  listen),  but  a  real  and   , 
substantial    loss,    by   not    being  able   to    withdraw   their   ■ 
capital,  and  to  close  their  concerns  within  the  time  lim- 
ited by  the  bill,  —  then  I  must   assert,  that  the  persons 
making  such  claims  are  as  well  entitled   to  compensation    ; 
as  any  persons  who  ever  solicited  the  justice  of  this  House.    ' 
But,  Sir,  there  is  another  compensation  of  a  much  higher    i 
and  better  nature  to  which  the  merchants  of  this  country    | 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  277 

are  entitled.  That  compensation  is  to  be  found  in  the 
more  extended  trade  and  commerce  of  this  country. 
When  we  consider  the  immense  revenue  which  we  are 
now  called  upon  to  pay,  it  is  evident  that  the  time 
is  arrived  when  we  must  avail  ourselves  of  all  our  re- 
sources ;  w'hen  we  look  at  the  immense  powder  acquired 
by  the  great  tyrant  of  the  Continent,  we  must  perceive, 
that  it  is  necessary  to  oppose  to  him  an  immense  colonial 
power,  whereby  we  may  maintain  and  enlarge  the  mari- 
time strength  of  our  country.  Under  such  circumstances, 
w^e  ought  to  extend  ourselves  to  the  East  and  to  the 
West. 

"  It  can  be  no  longer  concealed,  that  the  question  re- 
specting the  East  Indies  is  now  so  closely  connected  with 
the  safety  and  prosperity  of  this  country,  that  they  can 
scarcely  be  separately  considered  ;  nor  can  it  be  sup- 
posed that  we  can  any  longer  allow  ourselves  to  be 
crippled  in  this  essential  branch  of  our  commerce.  Let 
there  be  no  monopoly  but  the  monopoly  of  the  country 
at  laroje. 

''  Sir,  I  have  long  resided  in  the  to\'\Ti  of  Liverpool. 
It  is  now  upwards  of  thirty  years  since  I  first  raised  my 
voice  in  public  against  the  traffic  ^vhich  it  is  the  object  of 
the  present  bill  to  abolish.  From  that  time  I  have  never 
concealed  my  sentiments  upon  it,  in  public  or  in  private ; 
and  I  shall  ahvays  think  it  the  greatest  happiness  of  my 
life,  that  I  have  had  the  honour  to  be  present  on  this 
occasion,  and  to  concur  with  those  true  friends  of  justice, 
of  humanity,  and,  as  I  most  firmly  believe,  of  sound 
policy,  w^ho  have  brought  forward  the  present  measure." 

Of  his  feelings  on  this  occasion,  which  he  justly  re- 
garded as  the  most  important  passage  in  his  whole  life, 
he  has  given  some  account  in  a  letter,  WTitten  immedi- 
ately afterwards,  to  his  friend  Mr.  Shepherd. 

VOL.  I.  24 


278  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

*^  You  will,  I  am  sure,  rejoice  with  me  most  truly,  on 
the  triumphant  manner  in  which  the  question  on  the 
slave  trade  has  been  carried  through  both  Houses  of 
Parliament ;  and  you  will  also  feel  an  additional  gratifi- 
cation, that  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  speaking  my 
sentiments  publicly  on  the  subject. 

"  It  required,  I  assure  you,  no  small  share  of  resolution 
to  seize  the  proper  moment  to  obtrude  myself  on  the 
House,  and  to  persevere  against  several  competitors,  all 
of  them  eager  to  distinguish  themselves  on  the  occasion. 
Mr.  Fawkes,  member  for  Yorkshire,  and  I,  were  equally 
unwilling  to  give  way,  till  the  Speaker  restored  order, 
and  decided  in  my  favour.  What  I  had  to  say,  was 
well  premeditated,  but  had  not  been  written.  I  dehv- 
ered  it  with  tolerable  clearness,  and,  I  beheve,  without 
embarrassment,  but  not  with  sufficient  energy.  I  should 
tell  you,  that  before  the  debate  began,  the  Speaker 
called  to  me,  as  I  was  passing  near  him,  and  gave  me,  in 
very  kind  terms,  the  same  advice  which  you  had  done  ; 
viz.  to  take  my  station  at  about  two  thirds  of  the  House 
distant  from  him,  that,  in  addressing  him,  I  might  be 
well  heard.  This  I  complied  with,  and  found  efficient. 
I  have  reason  to  think  that,  upon  the  whole,  my  speech 
gave  satisfaction,  as  both  Mr.  Wilberforce  and  Mr.  Whit- 
bread  expressed  themselves  in  particular  terms  to  me  to 
that  effect.  But  what  pleases  me  more  is  the  idea,  that 
by  speaking  so  soon  in  the  debate,  and  standing  in  the 
capacity  of  member  for  Liverpool,  I  may  have  contrib- 
uted in  some  degree  to  that  decision  of  sentiment  which 
the  House  manifested  in  the  result.  My  friend,  Richard 
Sharp,  who  sat  by  me,  says  my  vote  was  worth  twenty. 
But  it  will  be  enough  for  me,  if  I  can  persuade  myself 
that  I  have  contributed  in  any  degree  to  the  success  of 
such  a  cause. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  279 

"  I  afterwards,  with  the  assistance  of  my  son  Edward, 
committed  my  speech  to  paper,  which  he  took  down 
with  him,  and  which  you  have  perhaps  seen.  I  have 
since  recollected  some  omissions,  but  it  will  give  you 
a  sufficient  idea  of  it. 

"  We  had  a  long  debate  on  the  same  subject  on 
Friday,  and  shall  have  another  on  Wednesday  next. 
Wyndham  has  avowed  his  determination  to  oppose  the 
measure  ;  Lord  Howick,  and  it  is  said  Sheridan,  will 
defend  it.  There  are  so  many  persons  who  have  not  yet 
spoken,  that  I  shall  not  attempt  it  again,  unless  I  feel 
myself  called  on  to  explain. 

"  On  the  whole,  I  find  the  attendance  on  the  House 
of  Commons,  particularly  whilst  the  election  committees 
are  sitting,  a  very  arduous  service.  There  are  great 
difficulties  to  be  surmounted,  and  it  requires  a  degree  of 
courage  and  of  caution,  not  often  united,  to  secure  the 
favourable  judgment  of  the  House.  Although  I  have 
spoken  twice,  my  anxiety  on  this  head  is  very  little  re- 
lieved, and  I  have  reason  to  suspect  that  I  partake  this 
anxiety  in  common  with  many  of  those  who  have  been 
much  more  accustomed  to  the  House.  I  mean,  how- 
ever, to  attempt  it  again  when  a  proper  opportunity 
occurs,  being  resolved  that  if  there  be  any  talent,  it 
shall  not,  in  times  like  the  present,  be  buried  in  a  nap- 
kin." 

To  the  vote  given  by  him  on  this  occasion  he  often 
referred,  in  his  after-life,  with  expressions  of  the  warmest 
satisfaction.  In  a  letter  written  in  1812  to  his  friend 
Walter  Fawkes,  Esq.,  he  says, —  ''I  am  gratified  to  find 
that  the  few  but  interesting  conferences  we  had  together 
in  St.  Stephen's  are  yet  held  in  your  remembrance. 
Tiresome  as  our  sittings  frequently  were,  we  had  our 
seasons  of  triumph  and  congratulation,  —  and  the  even- 


280  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

ing  when  we   rejoiced  together  on  the   abohtion  of  the 
slave  trade  will  never  be  forgotten  by  me." 

There  was  no  member  of  the  House  for  whose  talents 
and  virtues  Mr.  Roscoe  entertained  a  more  sincere  re- 
gard than  for  those  of  Sir  Samuel  Romilly  ;  and  when 
that  distiniruished  and  enlightened  statesman  brouirht  for- 
ward  in  Parliament  his  bill  for  subjecting  real  estates  to 
simple  contract  debts,  the  measure  received  the  warm  sup- 
port of  Mr.  Roscoe.  The  following  outline  of  his  speech 
on  this  occasion  is  now  given  from  a  note  of  it,  in  his  own 
hand,  and  may  serve  as  an  example  of  the  style  which 
he  adopted  in  public  speaking  :  — 

"  I  must  beg  leave.  Sir,  wholly  to  dissent  from  the 
Opinion  of  the  honourable  member  on  the  other  side  of 
the  House  (Colonel  Eyre),  and  am,  on  the  contrary,  of 
opinion  that  the  country  is  highly  indebted  to  the  hon- 
ourable and  learned  member  who  introduced  the  bill,  for 
proposing  a  measure  of  such  manifest  utility.     Sir,  it  is 
to  me  matter  of  surprise  that  in  a  country  like  this,  where 
there  is  such  a  continual  and  daily  interchange  between 
real  and  personal  property,  this  measure  should  not  have 
been  sooner  adopted.     With  respect  to  the  objections 
which  have  been  urged  against  the  bill,  as  well  on  this 
as  on  a  former  night,  I  cannot  allow  to  them  any  degree 
of  validity.     By  some  we   are  told   that  it  will  make  a 
most  dangerous  inroad  on  the  laws  of  our  ancestors,  and 
be  an  innovation  on  the  constitution,  as  if  laws  w^ere  not 
to  change  witli   the  changes  and  circumstances  of  the 
times  to  which  they  are  applied.     By  others  we  are  in- 
formed   that  it  will  be  the  downfall  of  the   aristocracy, 
as  if  the  aristocracy  could   only  sul^sist  by  the  non-pay- 
ment of  their  debts.     Next  we  are  informed  that  a   law 
of  this  nature  will  throw  the  landed  estates  of  the  country 
into  the  hands  of  East  Indian  nabobs,  and  that  it  will 


Life    of   william   roscoe.  281 

even  interfere  with  the  elective  franchise.  Really,  Sir, 
I  can  perceive  nothing  in  the  measure  under  considera- 
tion which  can  have  the  least  tendency  to  produce  any 
such  effects.  This  bill,  when  passed  into  a  law,  will  do 
nothing  more  than  is  done  in  this  country  every  day. 
It  will  subject  freehold  estates  to  the  payment  of  simple 
contract  debts,  a  duty  which  is  already  performed  by 
every  honest  man  on  making  his  will ;  yet  what  incon- 
venience has  ever  been  derived  from  it  ?  What  injury 
to  the  constitution  ?  Who  ever  discovered  its  injurious 
effects  ?  Is  it  not,  on  the  contrary,  highly  desirable 
that  an  honest  creditor  should  be  paid  his  just  demands  ? 
In  all  cases  of  this  kind,  where  the  testator  charges  his 
estate  with  the  payment  of  his  debts,  this  bill  will  make 
no  difference  whatever.  Its  provisions  will  only  be  con- 
current with  the  will  of  the  testator ;  and  whether  the 
creditor  recovers  his  debt  under  the  will,  or  by  the  opera- 
tion of  this  act,  is  to  him  a  matter  of  little  importance. 

"  It  is  only,  then,  in  cases  where  a  person  possessed  of 
freehold  estates  dies  without  subjecting  them  to  the  pay- 
ment of  his  debts  that  this  bill  will  apply.  Now,  Sir, 
such  cases  can  only  occur  from  two  causes.  First,  where 
a  person,  knowing  himself  to  be  indebted,  wilfully  and 
purposely  avoids  making  a  provision  for  the  payment  of 
his  debts.  This,  Sir,  I  cannot  but  consider  as  a  crime  of 
the  highest  magnitude.  The  perpetrator  of  it  avails  him- 
self of  the  law  to  defraud  his  just  creditor.  And  what  is 
the  moment  of  the  completion  of  his  crime  ?  That 
awful  moment  when  he  quits  this  state  of  being,  to  ap- 
pear in  the  immediate  presence  of  his  Creator.  Surely, 
Sir,  a  law  to  prevent  so  heinous  a  crime  cannot  be  too 
soon  passed  through  this  House. 

"  The  second  case,  Sir,  is,  when  a  person,   intending 
to  make  a  will   and   to   do  justice    to  his  creditors,  is 
24* 


282  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

snatclied  away  witlioiit  having  an  opportunity  of  carryino- 
his  intentions  into  effect.  Perhaps  in  the  midst  of  heaUh 
he  has  postponed  this  important  duty.  Perhaps  he  feels 
that  rekictance,  common  to  some  minds,  to  perform  what 
he  considers  as  a  last  act.  Perhaps  he  perishes  by  some 
unforeseen  accident,  and  leaves  his  estates  to  be  inherited 
by  some  distant  relation,  who  seizes  upon  them,  and  by 
refusing  to  pay  the  debts  of  his  predecessor,  leaves  a 
stigma  upon  his  name,  which,  if  he  had  supposed  that 
sucli  a  circumstance  could  have  taken  place,  would  have 
been  regarded  as  the  greatest  calamity  that  could  have 
befallen  him. 

"  If,  however.  Sir,  there  be  any  gentleman  in  this 
House,  whose  moral  taste  is  so  peculiarly  formed,  as  to 
be  gratified  with  the  injustice  of  the  present  system, 
there  will  still  remain  sufficient  to  satisfy  him.  In  the 
first  place,  there  is  the  whole  class  of  estates  for  life,  by 
whicl)  a  person  is  enabled  to  live  in  high  rank  and  great 
splendour,  so  as  to  obtain  considerable  credit  among  his 
tradesmen,  yet  at  his  death  his  estate  passes  to  the  per- 
son in  remainder,  wholly  discharged  from  his  debts. 
There  will  also  still  remain  all  the  estates  entailed  in 
Strict  settlement,  in  which  the  present  possessor  either 
cannot,  or  will  not,  defeat  the  entail,  and  which  pass  to 
the  person  next  in  remainder,  without  being  subject  to 
the  debts  of  his  predecessor.  Neither  of  these  classes 
will  be  at  all  affected  by  the  present  bill. 

'^  Nor  are  the  copyhold  estates  of  the  country  within 
its  operation  ;  and,  indeed,  I  conceive  this  to  have  been 
the  strongest  objection  which  was,  on  a  former  night, 
raised  against  this  bill  by  an  lionourable  and  learned 
member  liigh  in  the  law  department.  But  although  I 
could  have  wished  to  have  seen  copyhold  estates  includ- 
ed, yet  I  am  satisfied  with  the  reasons  alleged,  in  this 


LIFE     or  WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  283 

tespect,  by  the  honourable  and  learned  member  who 
introduced  the  present  bill ;  hoping  that  on  some  future 
occasion  its  principle  will  be  extended  also  to  copyhold 
and  customary  estates. 

"  Nor  am  I  deterred  from  expressing  this  hope  by 
any  apprehension  that  in  these  wise,  and  just,  and  neces- 
sary regulations,  we  are  encroaching  on  the  institutions 
of  our  ancestors,  or  making  alterations  in  the  establish- 
ed law  of  the  land. 

"  Sir,  it  is  the  very  end  and  object  of  our  meeting  to 
make  such  regulations  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  found 
necessary,  and  to  vary  the  law,  according  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  times  and  the  different  situations  in  which 
the  country  is  placed.  In  our  present  situation  the 
measure  now  proposed  is  highly  necessary  and  advisable, 
and  I  shall  therefore  give  the  bill  before  the  House  my 
most  hearty  assent." 

The  circumstances  under  which  the  ministers  were 
deprived  of  office  in  the  spring  of  1807  will  not  be 
easily  forgotten.  In  accordance  with  the  principles  which 
they  had  always  professed,  and  which  they  were  known 
by  the  King  to  entertain,  when  he  submitted  to  their 
appointment,  they  deemed  it  their  duty  to  bring  before 
parliament  a  question  connected  with  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic claims.  A  measure  so  obnoxious  to  the  prejudices 
of  the  King  was  received  by  him,  not  only  with  decided 
disapprobation,  but  with  a  command  that  his  ministers 
should  give  a  pledge  that  they  would  never  in  future 
attempt  to  bring  forward  the  question.  To  this  com- 
mand, so  unconstitutional  in  its  tendency,  they  refused 
to  submit,  and  the  administration  was  immediately  dis- 
solved. Frequent  and  angry  debates  ensued  in  the 
House  of  Commons  ;  in  the  course  of  which  the  late 
Mr.  Canning   threatened  the   House  with  a  dissolution 


234  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

in  the  event  of  a  majority  against  the  new  ministry.  On 
the  15th  of  April,  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Littleton  moved  a 
resolution,  declarin<T  the  retj;ret  of  the  House  at  the  late 
change  in  his  Majesty's  councils,  which  afforded  Mr. 
Roscoe  an  opportunity  of  expressing  his  sentiments  both 
upon  the  question  wliicli  had  given  rise  to  the  change, 
and  upon  the  manner  in  wliich  that  change  had  been 
effected.  In  the  course  of  his  speech,  he  adverted  par- 
ticularly to  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Canning.  "  Another 
striking  proof  of  the  disregard  paid  by  the  present  minis- 
try to  the  constitution  of  the  country,  and  to  the  privi- 
leges of  this  House,  may  appear  in  the  conduct  of  the 
right  hon.  member,  to  whom  I  have  before  alluded,  as 
filling  the  office  of  one  of  his  Majesty's  principal  secre- 
taries of  state,  and  who,  towards  the  close  of  the  debate 
to  w^hich  I  have  before  referred,  thought  proper  to  threat- 
en this  House,  that  if  its  members  did  not  vote  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  the  ministry,  his  Majesty  would  be 
advised  to  appeal  to  the  people,  or,  in  other  words,  to 
dissolve  his  parliament.  Sir,  I  deeply  regret,  and  shall 
regret  to  the  close  of  my  life,  that  not  a  member  was 
found  in  this  House  to  rise  in  his  place  and  call  upon 
you,  Sir,  to  interpose  your  authority,  and  to  stay  the 
proceedings  of  the  House,  till  it  had  expressed  its 
resentment  at  the  indignity  which  was  thus  offered  to  it." 
In  recurring  to  this  subject,  as  he  occasionally  did  in  his 
after-life,  it  was  always  with  the  strongest  expressions  of 
regret  that  he  had  not,  on  the  instant,  made  an  attempt 
to  rouse  the  House  to  a  sense  of  its  privileges,  when 
thus  openly  threatened  by  a  minister  of  the  crown. 

In  the  course  of  this  speech,  he  took  an  opportunity 
of  stating,  in  a  pointed  manner,  the  cruelty  of  inflicting 
penalties  and  disabilities  on  those  who,  notwithstanding 
the  injustice  to  which  they  were  subjected,  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  range  themselves  in  the  ranks  of  our  armies. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  285 

"  Sir,  I  remember  that  when  it  was  urged  that  the 
bill,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  would  induce  the  Roman 
Catholics  to  enter  into  our  armies  and  navies,  that  right 
honourable  and  learned  gentleman  observed,  that,  in  this 
respect;  the  bill  was  useless ;  for  that  in  spite  of  the 
Test  Laws  the  Roman  Catholics  did  enter  into  our 
armies  and  our  navies  ;  and  that,  therefore,  we  might 
as  well  avail  ourselves  of  their  services,  and  still  retain 
the  test  laws  to  be  used  or  not  as  might  be  found 
necessary.  What,  Sir  1  shall  we  then  distrust  those 
men  who  offer  themselves  to  shed  their  blood  in  our 
defence,  and  to  die  by  our  sides  ?  And  what  is  this 
privilege  which  we  are  so  desirous  to  retain  ?  And 
what  is  the  use  which,  under  such  circumstances,  we 
could  possibly  make  of  it  ?  Why,  Sir,  it  is  the  privilege 
of  saying  to  our  Roman  Catholic  fellow-subjects,  when 
they  return  from  their  service.  You  have  been  fighting 
the  battles  of  your  king  and  country ;  and  therefore  the 
law  has  determined  that  you  for  ever  be  rendered  incapa- 
ble of  suing  either  at  law  or  equity ;  in  short,  you  shall 
be  put  out  of  the  protection  of  the  law,  and  every  one 
who  pleases  may  plunder  you  with  impunity.  It  is  the 
privilege  of  saying.  You  have  been  faithful  to  your  trust, 
and  therefore  the  law  has  determined  that  you  shall  be 
disqualified  from  being  an  executor  or  administrator,  or 
the  guardian  of  the  child  of  your  nearest  relation.  It  is 
the  privilege  of  saying,  You  have  devoted  yourself  to 
a  military  life,  and  have  returned  home  in  poverty  but 
with  honourj  and  therefore  the  law  has  determined  that 
you  shall  pay  a  penalty  of  five  hundred  pounds.  I  am 
ashamed  that  it  should  be  necessary  at  this  day  to  an- 
swer such  ungenerous  ar2;uments." 

The  last  occasion  on  which  Mr.  Roscoe  addressed 
the  House  of  Commons  was  upon  Mr.  Whitbread's  bill 


286  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

for  establishing  a  plan  for  the  education  of  the  poor; 
the  object  of  which  was  to  provide  a  school,  at  which 
the  children  of  the  poor  might  be  instructed,  in  every 
parish.  This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  measures  which 
the  enlightened  statesman,  from  whom  it  emanated,  had 
it  in  contemplation  to  propose,  with  the  view  of  rescuing 
the  poorer  classes  of  the  community  from  that  state  of 
degradation  to  which  tlie  operation  of  various  causes, 
and  more  especially  the  weight  of  taxation,  have  reduced 
them.  The  basis  of  all  improvement  Mr.  Whitbread 
justly  regarded  as  consisting  in  that  intelligence  and 
knowledije  of  their  real  interests  which  education  can 
alone  confer,  and  in  this  view  of  the  question  he  was 
warmly  supported  by  Mr.  Roscoe. 

In  the  course  of  his  short  parliamentary  life,  Mr.  Ros- 
coe, as  a  friend  of  ministers,  had  considerable  experience 
in  that  system  of  patronage  which  was  thought  necessary 
to  keep  the  machine  of  government  in  motion.  Innu- 
merable applications  were  made  to  him,  both  by  those 
who  had  claims 'upon  him,  and  by  those  who  had  nothing 
to  urge  but  their  own  desire  of  preferment.  The  rule 
which  he  laid  down  with  regard  to  these  applications  he 
thus  states  in  a  confidential  letter  to  one  of  his  friends, 
whose  request  carried  with  it  every  recommendation 
which  long  friendship  and  sincere  esteem  could  con- 
fer :  — 

"  You  are  right  in  supposing  that  the  applications  from 
Liverpool  for  places,  he.  are  very  numerous.  I  divide 
them,  however,  into  two  classes,  viz.  first,  such  as  relate 
to  places  already  vacant,  for  which  the  applicant  brings 
good  recommendations  ;  and,  secondly,  such  as  require 
generally  a  good  place,  a  tolerable  place,  an  easy  place, 
0.  place  in  the  customs,  Sic.  or,  in  short,  any  place  that 
may  happen  to  offer.     To  the  first  of  these  I  think  my- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  287 

self  bound  to  pay  attention,  and  have  not  hesitated, 
where  I  thought  the  persons  proper,  to  recommend  them 
to  his  Majesty's  ministers ;  but  in  the  latter  cases  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  do  any  thing,  as  I  could  scarcely 
expect  that  they  would  promise  me  the  reversion  of  a 
place  not  yet  vacant,  but  on  which  some  provident  ex- 
pectant might  have  set  his   eye.     You  will  therefore  see 

that    your  friend comes    under  this  latter  class, 

and  that  I  can  be  of  no  service  to  him,  for  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  me  here  to  know  what  places  become  vacant.  If 
he  will  take  an  opportunity,  when  such  an  event  occurs, 
to  furnish  me  with  proper  testimonials,  I  will  do  the  best 
I  can  for  him  consistently  with  the  merits  and  preten- 
sions of  other  candidates  that  may  appear ;  and  this 
I  think  is  all  you  would  wish  me  to  say  on  the  sub- 
ject." 

During  his  residence  in  London,  and  before  the 
dissolution  of  that  parliament  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
Mr.  Roscoe  was  much  gratified  by  being  enabled  to 
assist  in  founding  "  The  African  Institution,"  a  society, 
the  object  of  which  was  the  civilisation  and  improvement 
of  the  natives  of  Africa.  The  first  meeting,  which  was 
a  highly  respectable  one,  was  held  at  the  Freemasons' 
Hall,  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  whose  zeal  on  behalf 
of  the  enslaved  Africans  has  reflected  the  highest  credit 
on  his  character,  took  the  chair.  Mr.  Roscoe,  having 
been  requested  by  Mr.  W.  Smith  and  Mr.  Robert 
Thornton  to  address  the  meeting  and  to  propose  its 
thanks  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  did  so  in  a  short  speech ; 
which  he  closed  by  observing,  "  That  as  this  was  the 
first  public  meeting  held  by  the  friends  of  the  abolition 
after  their  great  measure  had  been  accomplished,  he 
trusted  it  would  not  be  passed  over  without  marking  the 
deep  sense  which  they  entertained  of  the  pre-eminent 


288  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

services  of  him  who  had  laboured  so  successfully  in  their 
cause.  Not  that  even  this  approbation,  however  grate- 
ful it  might  be,  was  necessary  to  him,  —  that  his  reward 
was  not  to  be  found  in  the  applause  of  that  meeting,  — 
not  in  the  admiration  of  the  whole  country,  but  in  the 
conscious  rectitude  of  his  own  conduct,  and  in  the  appro- 
bation of  his  God."  On  the  passing  of  the  resolution, 
Mr.  Wilberforce  rose  and  observed,  that  however  he 
might  be  gratified  by  the  honour  wliich  was  done  to  him, 
it  was  rendered  much  more  estimable  in  his  opinion  by 
the  quarter  from  which  it  came.  That  when  he  con- 
sidered that  the  person  who  had  thus  seconded  the  mo- 
tion had  resided  all  his  life  in  the  very  midst  of  a  place 
which  had  been  particularly  distinguished  by  the  share 
which  it  had  taken  in  the  African  slave  trade ;  and  that, 
by  his  own  strength  of  mind,  he  had  risen  above  all  the 
prejudices  that  surrounded  him,  and  opposed  himself 
with  firnmess  to  so  great  an  abuse  ;  when  he  considered 
that  he  had  not  only  done  this,  but  that  he  had  also 
obtained  the  favourable  opinion  of  his  townsmen  in  so 
emieent  a  degree,  as  to  be  returned  their  representative 
in  parliament,  in  a  manner  equally  honourable  to  him 
and  to  themselves,  he  did,  indeed,  consider  this  as  a  great 
triumph. 

Mr.  Roscoe  having  been  appointed  one  of  the  com- 
mittee, took  an  active  and  zealous  part  in  preparing  the 
laws  of  the  Institution,  and  in  bringing  it  into  operation. 
For  many  years  he  continued  to  manifest  an  interest  in 
its  success,  and  corresponded  at  considerable  length  with 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester  on  the  subject. 

Tlius  terminated  Mr.  Roscoe's  short  parliamentary 
career,  before  he  had  become  well  accustomed  even  to 
the  forms  of  the  House,  or  had  acquired  that  confidence 
in  his  own  powers  which  is  so  essential  to  render  a  man 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  289 

distinguished  in  public  life.  He  had  acted  the  part  of 
an  independent  member  of  parliament,  and  though  from 
principle  a  strenuous  supporter  of  the  government,  he 
never  enrolled  himself  amongst  the  followers  of  the 
minister.  Upon  all  questions  of  importance  he  formed 
his  own  conclusions,  on  which  he  invariably  acted  with 
fii'mness  and  decision.  His  natural  turn  of  mind  ren- 
dered any  thing  like  intrigue,  or  even  partisanship,  dis- 
tasteful to  him,  and  he  was  therefore  probably  regarded 
as  a  person  not  altogether  qualified  to  be  admitted  into 
the  mysteries  of  ministerial  arrangements.  His  station, 
as  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  second  commercial 
town  in  the  empire,  gave  him  considerable  weight,  which 
was  not  lessened  by  his  personal  character ;  and  had  he 
remained  in  the  House,  it  is  probable  that  he  would 
have  rendered  himself  entensively  useful.  He  had  the 
good  fortune  while  there  to  acquire  the  friendship  of 
several  very  excellent  and  distinguished  persons,  and 
amongst  others,  of  Sir  Samuel  Romilly  and  Mr.  Whit- 
bread,  with  whom,  after  his  retirement  from  parliament, 
he  continued  occasionally  to  correspond. 

The  inconvenience  and  anxiety  that  he  had  expe- 
rienced during  the  short  period  of  his  public  hfe  did 
not  induce  him  to  shun  a  renewal  of  the  same  duties. 
As  the  dissolution  of  parliament  approached,  he  ex- 
pressed his  resolution  to  his  friend  Mr.  Rathbone  in 
these  terms :  — •'  What  line  I  am  to  take  in  this  case,  or 
what  will  be  the  wishes  of  my  friends,  I  shall  not  antici- 
pate. All  I  know  and  feel  is,  that  I  will  not  desert 
them  as  long  as  they  think  I  can  render  any  services, 
either  to  them  or  to  the  country.  I  do  not,"  he  ad- 
ded, "  augur  much  opposition  from  my  conduct  on  the 
slave  trade,  as  my  opinions  on  it  were  well  known ;  and 
I  do  not  yet  think  so  ill  of  the  world  as  to  suppose  that 

VOL.  I.  25 


290  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

an  adherence  to  one's   own   principles  can  be  made  a 
very  substantial  cause  of  reproacli." 

Unfortunately,  in  this  supposition,  Mr.  Roscoe  was 
mistaken.  The  part  taken  by  him  on  the  question  of 
the  slave  trade,  and  the  triumphant  passing  of  the  bill 
for  the  abolition  of  that  traflic,  had  excited  a  strong  feel- 
ing against  him  amongst  the  lower  classes  in  Liverpool. 
In  that  town,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  empire,  the  "  No 
Popery"  cry  had  been  renewed;  and  the  speech  of 
Mr.  Roscoe  in  favour  of  the  Catholics  was  made  use  of, 
in  order  to  excite  against  him  the  odium  of  the  populace. 
The  dismissal  of  the  ministry  also  was  not  without  its 
effects  on  the  minds  of  many,  while  the  short  period, 
which  had  elapsed  since  the  former  contest,  might  be 
expected  to  create  a  degree  of  unwillingness  on  the  part 
of  his  supporters,  so  soon  again  to  incur  the  labour  and 
expense  which  a  contested  election  in  Liverpool  has 
alw^ays  occasioned.  Of  these  circumstances  his  adver- 
saries eagerly  took  advantage.  The  cry  that  the  trade 
of  the  port  had  been  ruined  was  raised :  every  artifice 
to  render  him  obnoxious  to  the  electors  was  resorted  to ; 
and  preparations  were  made  to  convert  the  spectacle  of 
his  return  into  a  scene  of  tumult  and  bloodshed. 

Mr.  Roscoe  made  his  public  entry  into  Liverpool  in 
the  month  of  May.  A  numerous  body  of  his  friends, 
mounted  and  on  foot,  met  him  at  the  outskirts  of  the 
town.  They  had  not,  however,  proceeded  for  on  their 
return  when  it  became  evident  that  their  progress  to 
Mr.  Roscoe's  bank,  from  the  windows  of  which  it  was 
intended  tliat  he  should  address  the  peoi)le,  would  be 
opposed.  Strong  parties  of  seamen,  chiefly  consisting  of 
the  crews  of  vessels  lately  engaged  in  the  African  trade, 
armed  with  bludgeons  and  other  weapons,  were  disposed 
along  the  streets  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  proces- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  291 

sion;  and  when  it  reached  Castle  Street,  the  prhicipal 
street  of  the  town,  a  scene  of  the  greatest  tumuh  and 
riot  prevailed.  At  length  the  number  and  resolution  of 
Mr.  Roscoe's  friends  enabled  them  to  force  a  passage 
through  their  adversaries,  but  not  without  many  personal 
injuries  to  both  parties.  The  horse  on  which  Mr.  Wil- 
liams, a  magistrate  of  the  county,  and  a  warm  friend  of 
Mr.  Roscoe,  was  mounted,  was  stabbed  in  the  body 
with  a  knife ;  and  the  most  fatal  consequences  might 
have  ensued,  had  not  great  forbearance  been  displayed 
towards  the  assailants.  On  reachino;  the  bank,  Mr.  Ros- 
coe  attempted  to  address  the  crowds  collected  beneath 
the  windows,  but  the  tumult  was  renewed,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  desist.  Fortunately,  the  day  passed  off 
without  further  violence. 

It  now  became  necessary  for  Mr.  Roscoe  to  decide 
upon  the  course  which,  under  circumstances  like  these, 
it  was  his  duty  to  adopt.  While  some  of  his  friends 
strongly  urged  him  to  disregard  the  attempt  to  drive 
him  from  the  contest  by  threats  and  by  violence,  to 
which  they  did  not  doubt  their  ability  to  offer  a  successful 
resistance,  others  expressed  the  most  serious  apprehen- 
sions as  to  the  result.  The  great  body  of  the  electors, 
it  was  represented  to  him,  were  still  favourably  disposed 
towards  him  ;  and  though  it  could  not  be  denied  that 
his  popularity  had,  in  some  degree,  suffered  by  his  vote 
on  the  slave  trade,  yet  his  parliamentary  conduct  had 
entitled  him  to  the  continued  confidence  and  exertions 
of  his  friends.  These  topics,  though  strongly  pressed  on 
the  mind  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  failed  to  produce  the  effect 
which  those  who  urged  them  desired.  He  saw,  in 
the  exasperation  displayed  upon  his  entrance,  a  deter- 
mination to  decide  the  contest  by  tumult  and  by  vio- 
lence ;    and   he  did  not  find  it  consistent,  either   with 


292  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

his  feelings  or  with  his  principles,  to  take  any  part  In 
transactions  wliich  must,  in  all  prohability,  have  ter- 
minated in  bloodshed.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  motives  of  a  different  kind,  the  weight  of 
which  he  himself  could  scarcely  estimate,  had  their 
influence  over  him.  After  some  experience  of  political 
life,  he  had  found  it  distasteful  to  him,  and  he  earnestly 
lonsed  to  be  relieved  from  a  burden  which  he  had  been 
unaccustomed  to  bear,  —  a  burden  rendered  still  weightier 
by  the  reflection  that  it  interfered  with  the  performance 
of  those  private  duties,  upon  which  his  own  happiness 
and  that  of  those  around  him  depended.  An  opportu- 
nity now  offered  itself  of  retiring  with  honour  from  a 
contest,  into  which  his  sense  of  duty,  rather  than  his 
inclinations,  had  led  him  to  enter;  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that,  under  such  circumstances,  he  should  have 
declined  to  act  upon  the  advice  which  many  of  his 
friends  so  earnestly  tendered. 

His  determination  was  conveyed  to  the  public  in  the 
following  address ;  in  which  he  both  enters  into  an  ex- 
planation of  his  parliamentary  conduct,  and  details  the 
motives  which  induced  him  to  retire  from  a  second  con- 
test. 

"  To  the  Independent  Freemen  of  Liverpool. 

"  Gentlemen, 

"  After  the  many  proofs  of  attachment  and  confidence 
with  which  you  have  honoured  me,  and  which  will  ever 
be  remembered  by  me  with  the  wannest  gratitude,  it  is 
with  sincere  regret  that  I  announce  to  you  my  determi- 
nation to  withdraw  myself  as  a  candidate  at  the  approach- 
ing election. 

*'  Called  upon  as  I  was  by  you  on  a  former  occasion, 
I  laid   aside    all   considerations  of  private   interest   and 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  293 

personal  convenience,  and  cheerfully  obeyed  your  sum- 
mons. From  that  time  I  have  devoted  myself  to  your 
service  by  a  diligent  performance  of  my  duty  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  have  uniformly  maintained  those  principles 
and  opinions  which  first  recommended  me  to  your  choice. 
To  the  best  of  my  power  I  have  asserted  the  cause  of 
justice,  of  humanity,  of  toleration,  and  of  true  constitu- 
tional British  freedom ;  and  amidst  the  changes  which 
I  have  witnessed  around  me,  I  have  certainly  remained 
and  now  return  unchanged. 

"  Short  as  the  duration  of  that  parliament  has  been, 
its  proceedings  will  always  be  recorded,  in  the  annals  of 
this  country,  with  peculiar  honour.  During  that  period, 
I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  giving  my  humble  but 
disinterested  support  to  men  who,  from  their  rank,  their 
property,  and  their  independence,  could  have  no  object 
in  view  but  to  promote  the  permanent  interests  and 
prosperity  of  the  country  ;  and  of  adding  my  public 
sanction  to  measures  of  the  greatest  national  benefit  and 
importance.  Of  these  measures,  some  were  carried  into 
complete  effect,  and  others  were  only  frustrated  by  the 
premature  dissolution  of  parliament,  which  his  Majesty's 
ministers  thought  it  expedient  to  advise.  A  system  of 
finance  was  proposed  and  matured,  which  surprised  and 
gratified  the  country,  by  demonstrating,  that  no  new 
taxes  were  necessary,  and  which  regulated  the  public 
revenue  and  expenditure  for  a  long  series  of  years.  The 
great  principles  of  justice  and  humanity  were  asserted 
by  the  abolition  of  the  African  slave  trade.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  examine  into  the  abuses  of  excessive 
salaries  and  peculations  in  office,  which  had  discovered 
frauds  in  public  functionaries  to  a  considerable  amount. 
A  bill  was  introduced,  which  was  intended  to  add  to  our 
national  security  at  this  dangerous  crisis,  by  uniting  his 
25* 


294  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Majesty's  subjects  of  all  religious  persuasions  In  the 
common  defence  of  the  country.  To  these  great  meas- 
ures of  public  benefit  I  must  be  allowed  to  add  the  bills 
introduced  by  an  enlightened  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  for  improving  the  condition,  raising  the  char- 
acter, and  providing  for  the  education  of  those  lower 
classes  of  the  community,  on  which  the  strength  and 
prosperity  of  a  nation  so  essentially  depend,  and  which, 
carried  into  effect,  would  ere  long  have  alleviated  those 
enormous  parish  rates  which  have  of  late  increased  with 
such  alarming  rapidity.  To  have  had  a  share  in  these 
deliberations  will  ever  be  remembered  by  me  as  the  chief 
pride  of  my  life. 

^'  No  sooner  was  the  dissolution  of  this  parliament 
known,  than  I  announced  to  you  my  intention  of  offering 
myself  again  to  your  choice.  But  on  my  arrival  in 
Liverpool  I  found  that  the  same  arts  of  ministerial  mis- 
representation, which  had  been  so  Industriously  employed 
in  other  places  to  mislead  the  public  mind,  and  had 
induced  so  many  persons  of  independent  character  to 
relinquish  their  pretensions  to  a  seat  in  parliament,  had 
not  been  without  their  effect  there  also.  To  this  more 
general  prejudice  was  added  a  particular  disapprobation, 
in  some  few  individuals,  of  the  part  I  had  taken  on  the 
abohtlon  of  the  slave  trade.  On  these  and  other  points 
it  was  my  most  earnest  desire  to  have  addressed  myself 
to  you.  After  having  been  met  on  my  approach,  and 
accompanied  into  the  town  by  such  a  concourse  of  the 
most  respectable  inhabitants  as  was  perhaps  never  before 
witnessed,  except  on  the  memorable  occasion  in  Novem- 
ber last,  I  made  several  attempts  to  obtain  a  hearing, 
and  to  ])erform  what  I  consider  a  sacred  and  indispensa- 
ble duty,  by  rendering  an  account  of  my  conduct  to  my 
constituents.     J3ut,    to  the   disgrace   of  themselves  and 


LIFE     or     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  295 

their  employers,  persons  evidently  stationed  for  the  pur- 
pose prevented  me,  by  their  clamours,  from  all  possi- 
bility of  addressing  my  friends.  Prepared  for  outrage, 
they  suddenly  attacked  the  large  and  respectable  body 
of  freemen  by  whom  I  was  surrounded.  Without  the 
least  restraint  from  the  police  of  the  town,  many  of  my 
friends  were  grossly  insulted,  and  some  of  them  much 
wounded.  Persons,  whose  peculiar  province  it  was  to 
have  repressed  such  outrages,  were  observed  actively 
employed  in  promoting  them.  An  officer  of  the  highest 
reputation  and  independence  of  character,  to  whom  the 
town  of  Liverpool  is  under  particular  obligations,  and 
who  had  honoured  me  by  his  presence,  was  insolently 
attacked,  and  his  horse  stabbed  with  a  knife.  Happily 
for  the  peace  and  character  of  the  town,  the  feelings  of 
resentment,  thus  wantonly  and  arrogantly  excited,  were 
suppressed  by  the  consideration  of  the  dreadful  conse- 
quences which  must  have  ensued,  had  my  friends  in- 
dulged themselves  in  that  retaliation  which  was  decidedly 
in  their  power.  The  example  of  firmness  and  modera- 
tion which  they  at  this  moment  evinced  confers  on  them 
the  highest  honour. 

^'  Under  these  circumstances,  and  wholly  hopeless,  in 
the  present  situation  of  public  affairs,  of  rendering  those 
services  to  my  constituents  or  to  my  country,  which  could 
alone  justify  me  in  entering  upon  a  contest,  I  have 
finally  resolved  not  to  afford,  by  my  further  perseverance, 
a  pretext  for  those  excesses,  which,  from  what  has  al- 
ready occurred,  there  is  but  too  much  reason  to  appre- 
hend would  be  experienced  in  the  course  of  the  election. 
What  will  be  the  character  of  a  parliament  chosen  under 
such  auspices  I  shall  not  pretend  to  determine  ;  but  if 
the  representation  of  Liverpool  can  only  be  obtained  by 
violence  and  bloodshed,  I  leave  the  honour  of  it  to  those 


296  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

who  choose  to  contend  for  it,  nor  will  I  accept  even  that 
distinction,  accompanied  by  reflections  which  must  em- 
bitter every  future  moment  of  my  hfe. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be, 

"  With  the  greatest  gratitude  and  respect, 

''  Gentlemen, 

"  Your  most  obliged  and  most  lliithful  Servant, 

(Signed)  "  William  Roscoe. 

"Allerton  Hall,  May  5,  1807." 

On  the  appearance  of  this  address,  a  numerous  meet- 
mcr  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  friends  was  held,  and  the  foUowing 
letter  was  transmitted  to  him,  expressive  of  their  feelings 
on  the  occasion  :  — 

"  Sir, 

"  It  is  with  heartfelt  concern  that  we  have  read  your 
address,  announcing  your  intention  to  withdraw  yourself 
as  a  candidate  for  the  representation  of  Liverpool. 

"  Impressed  with  a  high  respect  for  your  talents  and 
your  virtues,  confident  in  your  abilities,  and  still  more 
so  in  your  integrity,  we  invited  you,  the  last  autumn,  to 
offer  yourself  as  a  competitor  for  that  honour.  At  the 
expense  of  considerable  sacrifices  you  complied  with  our 
invitation.  Our  joint  efforts  were  crowned  with  the 
most  brilliant  success,  and  you  took  your  seat  as  one  of 
our  representatives  in  the  great  council  of  the  nation. 

"  It  is  with  pleasure  that  we  discharge  an  incumbent 
duty  in  assuring  you,  that  your  conduct  in  that  assembly 
meets  with  our  entire  approbation.  In  most  of  the  parti- 
culars of  that  conduct  you  expressed  our  unanimous  senti- 
ments, and  in  whatever  cases  any  of  us  might  differ  from 
you  in  opinion,  we  paid  cheerfnl  deference  to  the  purity 
of  your  motives.     It  was  never  our  object  to  send  into 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  297 

parliament  a  party  agent,  or  an  instrument  of  faction. 
Our  honest  ambition  was,  and  is,  to  be  represented  by  a 
man  of  undeviating  honour,  who  would  uniformly  act 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience. 

"  Regarding  you,  Sir,  as  such  a  man,  we  have  cher- 
ished an  earnest  desire  that  you  should  again  yield  your 
services  to  the  independent  burgesses  of  Liverpool,  under 
the  full  persuasion  that  you  retain  the  affectionate  esteem 
of  a  great  majority  of  your  late  constituents.  We  were 
not,  indeed,  insensible  of  the  effects  which  had  been 
produced  by  the  misrepresentations  of  your  opponents. 
But  we  were  assured  that  a  simple  explanation  on  your 
part  would  have  convinced  those  who  have  been  de- 
luded by  groundless  clamour,  that  an  enlargement  of 
the  royal  prerogative  entrenches  not  on  the  privileges  of 
the  sovereign  ;  that  your  political  friends,  who  comprise 
almost  the  whole  body  of  the  ancient  nobility  and  gentry 
of  the  realm,  can  have  no  interest  separate  from  the 
welfare  of  tlieir  country  ;  that  the  enabling  his  Majesty 
to  permit  such  of  his  Catholic  subjects  as  he  may  think 
deserving  of  trust,  to  fight  his  battles,  cannot  possibly 
endanger  the  church  establishment ;  and  that  the  contest 
which  now  convulses  the  kingdom  is  not  a  struggle  be- 
tween the  throne  and  a  faction,  but  between  honesty 
and  peculation,  between  integrity  and  corruption. 

"  We  are  the  more  persuaded  that  these  truths  would 
have  been  brought  home  to  the  general  feelings,  from 
the  unexampled  attendance  with  which  you  were  hon- 
oured on  your  arrival  in  Liverpool  on  Saturday  last.  As 
to  the  outrages  which  took  place  on  that  day,  be  assured 
we  reflect  upon  them  with  mingled  sensations  of  indig- 
nation and  contempt.  And  we  are  confident  that  could 
you  have  been  persuaded  to  authorise  our  firm  but 
peaceable  exertions  in  your  favour,  we  should  soon  have 


293  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

demonstrated  that  tlie  sense  of  the  town  is  not  to  be 
ascertained  by  the  chalk  or  the  pen  of  the  incendiary, 
nor  its  spirit  by  the  clamour  and  violence  of  intoxicated 
iTillians. 

"  As,  however,  you  have  declined  to  accept  our  ser- 
vices, however  cheerfully  proffered,  we  pay  reluctant 
deference  to  your  decision,  expressing  our  warmest  wishes 
for  your  health  and  comfort  in  your  retirement,  and  as- 
suring you  that  the  concern  wliich  we  cannot  but  feel  on 
this  occasion  is  much  lessened  by  the  prospect  of  your 
again  residing  amongst  us,  and  gratifying  us  by  the  at- 
tentions of  private  friendship. 

"  Signed  on  behalf  of  a  most  numerous  and 

respectable    meeting    of  Mr.  Roscoe's 

friends, 

"  Thomas  Rawson." 

From  many  quarters  Mr.  Roscoe  received  commu- 
nications expressive  of  the  strong  regret  which  the  late 
occurrences  at  Liverpool  had  occasioned.  "  I  am  seized 
alternately  with  stupor  and  indignation,"  says  Dr.  Parr, 
in  a  letter  written  at  this  time,  "  at  the  state  of  public 
affairs.  Do  not  suppose  that  I  am  a  tame  or  careless 
observer  of  the  stranoje  and  disgraceful  events  which  have 
occurred  at  Liverpool.  Disdain,  I  beseech  you,  to  repel 
any  accusations.  All  wise  and  all  virtuous  men  will  de- 
plore your  removal  from  parliament,  and  will  detest  or  de- 
spise the  artifices  of  your  o])j)onents.  Reading,  reflection, 
the  society  of  wise  men,  and  the  conscious  rectitude  of 
your  own  intentions,  will  preserve  you  and  me  from  the 
perturbation  and  dismay  which  other  men  may  experience 
in  these  strange  and  eventful  times.  The  yell  of  '  No 
Popery  '  has  been  heard  even  at  Cambridge  :  the  effects 
of  it  were  visible  in  the  late  election ;  and  on  the  walls 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  299 

of  our  senate  house,  of  Clare  Hall  chapel,  and  of  Trinity 
Hall,  I  saw  the  odious  words  in  large  characters.  The 
good  sense  of  the  country  will  not  speedily  return. 
There  is  a  great  and  portentous  change  in  the  puhlic 
mind,  and  you  and  I  are  at  a  loss  to  assign  the  cause,  or 
to  predict  the  consequences.  So  it  is,  that,  amidst  the 
fury  of  the  tempest,  and  the  wreck  of  our  fairest  hopes, 
I  feel  myself  sustained  and  animated  by  the  reflection 
that  you,  and  those  who  supported  you,  deserved  a  better 
fate." 

The  resignation  of  Mr.  Roscoe  did  not  prevent  the 
freemen  of  Liverpool  from  attempting  to  assert  their  o\vn 
cause.     A  number  of  the  electors,  without  any  commu- 
nication either   with  him  or  his  late  committee,  met  to- 
gether for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  best  means  of 
securing  his  re-election.     A  subscription  was  set  on  foot, 
and  instead  of  receiving  bribes,  the  poorer  voters  cheer- 
fully contributed  their  half  crowns  or  half  guineas  to  the 
expenses   of  the   contest.     About  one   hundred   pounds 
having  been  raised  in  this  manner  amongst  the  common 
freemen,  a  number  of  gentlemen  stepped  forwards  and 
offered  their  exertions  in  the  same  cause  ;  still  without  the 
sanction  of  Mr.  Roscoe  or  his  immediate  friends.    On  the 
day  of  election  he  was  nominated  as  a  candidate,  and  the 
contest  was  kept  up  for  seven  days,  when   it  terminated 
in  favour  of  Generals  Gascoigne  and  Tarleton  by  a  large 

majority. 

An  effort  so  zealous  and  disinterested  called   for  the 

acknowledgments   of  Mr.  Roscoe  ;  which  were   accord- 

•  ingly  expressed  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the 

election,  in  an  Address,   of  which  the   following  is  the 

termination  :  — 

^'  In  taking  my  leave  of  you  in  a  public  character,  and 
returning  to  the  avocations  of  private  life,  I  feel  conso- 


300  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

lations  of  which  no  change,  either  in  the  opinions  or  the 
conduct  of  others,  can  ever  deprive  nie.  I  have  faith- 
f6lly  discharged,  to  the  best  of  my  aljihties,  the  trust 
reposed  in  me  ;  not  by  sacrificing  my  principles  to  my 
popularity,  but  by  consulting  the  true  honour  and  char- 
acter, and,  let  me  add,  the  real  and  permanent  interests 
of  the  town  of  Liverpool,  as  well  as  of  the  empire  at 
large.  In  the  great  questions  that  have  of  late  agitated 
the  country,  I  have  taken  that  part  to  which  I  have  been 
induced  by  an  unalterable  attachment  to  my  king,  a 
strict  regard  to  the  dignity  and  security  of  his  crown,  and 
a  firm  adherence  to  the  genuine  principles  of  the  British 
constitution ;  and  I  have  contributed  my  humble  efforts 
towards  promoting  that  affection,  attachment,  and  broth- 
erly union,  amongst  his  Majesty's  subjects  of  all  religious 
denominations,  which  are  now  become  indispensably  ne- 
cessary, as  well  to  the  internal  tranquillity  as  to  the 
general  defence  of  these  realms. 

''  With  these  reflections  I  could  easily  have  consoled 
myself  under  much  greater  changes  of  popular  favour 
til  an  any  that  I  have  ever  experienced.  But  your  un- 
solicited patronage  has  removed  all  impressions  of  the 
kind  ;  and  I  retire  with  the  additional  satisfaction  of 
knowing  that  my  public  conduct,  during  the  short  but 
eventful  period  in  which  I  liave  been  your  representa- 
tive, has  obtained  the  apjirobation  of  a  great  and  re- 
spectable body  of  my  constituents,  and  has  preserved  to 
me  undiminished  those  connections  of  private  altaclnncnt 
and  friendship,  wliicli  have  hitlierto  been  the  chief  hon- 
our and  happiness  of  my  life."  • 

Great  regret  was  expressed  by  iIjc  ])olitical  friends  of 
]Mr.  Roscoe,  when  his  resolution  to  retire  from  public 
life  became  known.  How  hii^lilv  his  services  were  val- 
ued,  and  how  much  tlic  loss  of  tlieui  was  felt,  will  appear 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  301 

from  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to  him 
on  this  occasion  by  Lord  Holland  :  — ''  Among  the  many- 
mortifications  to  which  an  interest  in  political  events  ex- 
poses one,  there  is  none  greater  than  the  success  which 
a  senseless  cry  sometimes  insures  over  tried  worth  and 
a  steady  attachment  to  the  cause  of  the  people.     Repre- 
sentative  governments   and  popular  elections  being  the 
best  devices  which  human  wisdom  has  contrived  for  the 
security  of  liberty,    and    the    preservation   of  its    spirit 
among  the  people,  it  disgusts  one's  feelings,  and  humili- 
ates one's  pride,  to  see  them  rendered  the  instruments 
of  bigotry  and   prejudice ;    and  to  find   the   enemies  of 
liberty  triumphant  in  the  very  sanctuaries  instituted  for 
her  protection.     The  instances  of  such  a  perversion  of 
our  best  institutions  have  not  been  so  numerous  on  this 
occasion  as  the  fomenters  of  the  cry  expected  that  they 
would  be ;  but,  I  assure  you,  your  rejection  at  Liverpool 
is  considered  by  us  all  as  one  of  the  greatest  disgraces  to 
the  country,  as  well   as  misfortunes  to  the  party,  that 
could  have  happened." 

Of  the  line  of  conduct  pursued  by  him  on  this  occa- 
sion Mr.  Roscoe  never  repented,  firmly  persuaded  that 
it  had  prevented  the  occurrence  of  evils  which  his  return 
to  parliament  could  never  have  counterbalanced.  Li  a 
letter  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  written  immediately 
after  the  publication  of  his  address,  he  says,  '/  At  a 
time  like  the  present,  it  was  not  without  great  reluctance 
that  I  withdrew  myself  as  a  candidate  ;  but  the  more  I 
reflect  upon  it,  the  more  reason  I  have  to  be  satisfied 
with  my  determination  ;  for  the  violence  of  my  oppo- 
nents and  their  friends,  and  the  prejudices  of  the  town, 
are  such,  that  I  am  persuaded  my  further  interference 
must  have  produced  the  most  unhappy  consequences." 

VOL.  I.  26 


302  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

How  joyfully  his  mind  reverted,  from  the  cares  and 
tumults  of  public  life,  to  the  calm  pleasures  of  a  private 
station,  may  be  best  learned  from  his  own  words.  In  a 
letter  to  Dr.  J.  E.  Smith,  written  in  the  summer  of  1807, 
he  says,  "  I  have  for  some  time  past  rejoiced  in  the 
thought  that  I  am  likely  to  see  you  in  Lancashire  in  the 
course  of  the  present  summer.  I  already  anticipate  the 
happiness  I  shall  have  in  your  society  at  Allerton,  where 
I  must  at  least  claim  some  portion  of  your  time,  and 
where  I  shall  be  delighted  to  stroll  and  saunter  with  you 
through  the  fields  in  an  evening,  instead  of  being  locked 
up,  balloting  for  committees,  in  St.  Stephen's.  In  truth, 
my  dear  friend,  it  requires  but  little  of  the  efforts  of 
others  to  drive  me  from  public  life.  The  only  wonder 
is,  that  I  was  ever  brought  into  it ;  and  I  sink  back  with 
such  a  rapidity  of  gravitation  into  my  natural  inclination 
for  quiet  and  retirement,  that  I  totally  despair  of  ever 
being  roused  again  to  a  similar  exertion.  Add  to  this, 
that  the  one  great  object  which  was  continually  before 
my  eyes  is  now  attained,  and  I  shall  have  the  perpetual 
gratification  of  thinking  that  I  gave  my  vote  in  the  as- 
sembly of  the  nation  for  abohshing  the  slave  trade  to 
Africa.  Thousjh  not  insensible  to  the  state  of  the  coun- 
try,  yet  I  see  no  question  of  equal  magnitude  ;  and  am 
fully  aware  how  little  my  efforts  could  avail  in  the  politi- 
cal struggles  of  the  times.  Come  then,  my  friend,  and 
let  us  again  open  the  book  of  nature,  and  wander  through 
the  fields  of  science.  Your  presence  will  increase  my 
reviving  relish  for  botanical  pursuits  ;  and  when  we  are 
tired  with  those  subjects,  we  will  call  in  the  aid  of  the 
poets  and  philosophers  to  vary  our  entertainments." 

''  After  all  the  agitation  and  anxiety  of  mind,"  says 
Dr.  J.  E.  Smith  in  reply,  "  which  I  have  felt  for  some 
weeks  past  on  your  account,  how  delightful  it  is  to  find, 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  303 

by  your  most  welcome  and  interesting  letter  of  the  25th 
of  June,  that  you  still  possess  yourself  in  undisturbed 
tranquilhty  ;  not  like  a  reed  that  has  bent  before  the 
storm,  but  like  a  palm-tree,  around  whose  polished  and 
upright  stem  the  winds  have  whistled,  without  ruffling 
the  lofty  honours  of  its  head !  Such  a  plant  can  no 
more  be  nursed  in  St.  Stephen's  chapel,  than  the  Norfolk 
Island  pine,  250  feet  high,  in  any  of  our  stoves.  You 
are  now  in  your  proper  element ;  and  very  long  may 
you  continue  so  !  The  world  is  not  worthy  of  you, 
^  nor  the  world's  law.' 

^'  The  line  of  conduct  you  have  pursued  secures  you 
from  regret ;  and  I  trust  you  will  soon  look  back  on  all 
that  is  past,  with  no  less  satisfaction,  on  every  account, 
than  self-approbation.  I  wished  it  rather  for  your  tri- 
umph than  your  happiness  ;  and  really  triumphs  of  any 
kind  are  worth  but  little  :  — '  One  self-approving  hour,' 
Etc.,  you  know  the  rest ;  and  that  a  good  man  has,  inde- 
pendent of  triumphs  founded  on  the  accidental  justice  of 
the  world." 

Soon  after  his  retirement  from  Parliament,  Mr.  Roscoe 
was  gratified  by  receiving,  in  the  following  letter  from  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  the  county  of 
Lancaster,  an  expression  of  his  Lordship's  wish  that  he 
would  suffer  himself  to  be  appointed  one  of  the  Deputy 
Lieutenants  of  the  county :  — 

''Dear  Sir, 
"  I  have  lately  been  applied  to  and  desired  to  ap- 
point some  gentlemen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Liverpool 
to  be  Deputy  Lieutenants  of  this  county.  I  think  I 
cannot  in  a  better  manner  comply  with  this  request  than 
by  applying  to  you,  and  desiring  your  permission  to 
propose   you   to  his    Majesty  to   fill    this   office.     If  I 


304  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

obtain  it,  I  assure  you  I  shall  have  great  pride  and 
pleasure  in  laying  such  a  name  before  his  Majesty,  with 
the  recommendation  of,  ^ 

"  Dear  Sir, 
"  Your  obliged  and  faithful  humble  servant, 

"  Derby." 

To  this  communication  Mr.  Roscoe  returned  the  fol- 
lowing; answer  :  — ■ 
"  My  Lord, 
"  I  should  have  esteemed  it  a  very  great  honour  to 
have  been  recommended  by  your  Lordship  to  his  Majes- 
ty as  a  Deputy  Lieutenant  of  the  county,  had  I  not 
been  one  of  those,  whom  the  operation  of  the  test  laws 
excludes  from  all  offices  of  trust  under  government.  I 
well  know  that  if  otliers  thought  with  the  same  liberality 
as  your  Lordship,  these  disabilities  w^ould  be  removed ; 
but  whilst  they  remain,  I  think  it  better  that  those  affect- 
ed by  them  should  implicitly  submit  to  them,  rather  than 
by  an  occasional  conformity  to,  or  an  open  disregard  of 
them,  invalidate  the  reasons  for  their  repeal. 

"  With  the  deepest  sense  of  this  mark  of  your  Lord- 
ship's confidence,  I  remain, 

"My  Lord, 
''  Your  Lordship's  most  obliged 

"  And  most  faithful  servant, 

"W.  RoscoE." 


CHAPTER  X. 


1808. 


Mr.  Roscoe's  Tracts  on  the  War.  —  Publication  of  the  <^  Considera- 
tions on  the  Causes,  &c,  of  the  War  with  France."  —  Character 
of  Mr.  Pitt  in  that  pamphlet.  —  The  attack  upon  Copenhagen.  — 
Poem  of  <'  Copenhagen."—  Letter  to  Mr.  Wilberforce. —  Success 
of  the  pamphlet.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Whitbread.  —  Letter  to  Mr. 
Wilberforce.  —  Impression  made  by  the  pamphlet.  —  Publication 
of  "  Remarks  on  the  Proposals  for  Peace,"  &c.  —  Letter  from  Mr. 
Rathbone.  —  The  pamphlet  submitted  to  Mr.  Whitbread — letter 
from  him,  and  reply.  —  Mr.  Roscoe's  defence  against  his  critics.  — 
Letter  to  Professor  Smyth.  —  Opinions  on  the  pamphlet.  —  Let- 
ter from  Mr.  J.  Graham.  —  Letters  to  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne 
and  to  Mr.  Whitbread.  —  Some  of  his  political  friends  differ  from 
Mr.  Roscoe  on  the  subject  of  peace  —  he  proposes  and  carries  a 
pacific  address  at  a  public  meeting  at  Liverpool.  —  Letter  to  Mr. 
Mathias. 

Although  no  longer  actively  engaged  in  the  duties 
of  public  life  Mr.  Roscoe  was  not  insensible  to  the  pros- 
pects of  the  country  and  to  the  progress  of  political 
affairs.  He  saw,  with  sorrow  and  dismay,  that  the  spirit 
of  hostility,  which  had  given  rise  to  a  war  almost  unex- 
ampled in  the  expenditure  of  blood  and  of  treasure, 
still  continued  to  actuate  the  councils  of  the  English 
government  and  he  was  impelled,  by  a  sense  of  the  in- 
justice of  this  protracted  contest,  and  of  the  dangers 
which  the  country  incurred  by  its  continuance,  to  exert 
26* 


306  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

whatever  influence  be  possessed,  in  directing  the  pubhc 
mind  to  more  pacific  views.  From  the  commencement 
of  the  French  war  in  the  year  1793  he  had  on  various 
occasions,  earnestly  advocated  the  cause  of  peace.  In 
his  "  Thoughts  on  the  Causes  of  the  late  Failures,"  * 
he  had  denounced  the  war  as  the  origin  of  the  evils 
under  which  the  country  was  suffering ;  and  in  the  year 
1802  he  again  exerted  himself  in  the  same  cause,  by  the 
publication  of  a  short  pamphlet  under  the  title  of 
^'  Observations  on  tlie  relative  Situation  of  Great  Britain 
and  France."!  He  now  made  another  attempt  to 
enforce  these  opinions,  in  a  pamphlet,  to  which  he  gave 
the  title  of  "■  Considerations  on  the  Causes,  Objects,  and 
Consequences  of  the  present  War,  and  on  the  Expedien- 
ce/ or  the  Danger  of  Peace  with  FranceJ^  J 

Now  that  Europe  has  long  returned  to  a  state  of 
peace,  and  that  tliis  country  has  had  an  opportunity 
which  she  never  enjoyed  while  the  contest  continued, 
of  weiirhin";  the  effects  of  the  lono^  and  sano-uinarv  struo-- 
gle  in  which  she  engaged,  it  is  unnecessary  to  recur  to 
the  arguments  with  which  Mr.  Roscoe  enforced  his 
opinions.  The  result  has  shown,  but  too  forcibly,  the 
correctness  and  the  foresight  of  his  judgment ;  and  the 
peace  which  arrived  at  last,  induced  not  so  much  by  the 
wisdom  of  our  own  councils  or  the  vigour  of  our  own 
arms,  as  by  the  mad  ambition  of  our  enemies,  reached 
us  only  just  in  time  to  rescue  the  country  from  destruc- 
tion. Not  one  of  the  objects  of  those  with  whom  the 
war  originated  has  been  accomplished.  The  French 
nation  have  once  more  expelled  from  amongst  them  those 


*Vide  ante,  p.  03. 

f  Reprinted  in  the  "  Occasional  Tracts  on  the  War."     1810. 

+  Reprinted  in  the  Tracts  on  the  War. 


LIFE     OF  WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  307 

whose  fatal  maxims  of  government  were  the  occasion  of 
the  Revolution,  and  have,  undisturbed  by  foreign  interfer- 
ence, freely  chosen  for  themselves  their  own  rulers  ;  while 
in  this  country,  the  principles  of  freedom  and  reform, 
which  it  was  the  unceasing  endeavour  of  the  war-party 
to  crush,  have  attained  a  complete,  and,  it  may  be 
hoped,  a  lasting  triumph.  The  only  effect  of  the  lono- 
and  bloody  contest  has  been  to  burden  the  country  with 
a  debt,  the  weight  of  which,  even  now,  impoverishes 
her  industrious  population,  oppresses  her  best  enerc^ies, 
and  still  threatens  her  with  destruction. 

Though  the  subjects  which  form  the  topics  of  this 
pamphlet  have  partially  lost  their  interest,  yet  the  follow- 
ing passage,  containing  a  character  of  Mr.  Pitt,  may 
not  improperly  be  extracted  :  — • 

"  With  the  battle  of  Austerlitz  the  confederation 
against  France  terminated,  and  with  that  terminated  also 
the  political  career  and  the  life  of  Mr.  Pitt  — ■  a  states- 
man to  whom  it  would  be  unjust  to  deny  the  endow- 
ments of  extraordinary  talents,  and  the  praise  of  having 
improved  those  talents  in  some  departments,  to  a  most 
uncommon  degree.  But  these  accomplishments,  which 
ought  to  have  rendered  him  a  benefactor  to  his  coun- 
try, were  unfortunately  subservient  to  one  predominating 
passion,  which  not  only  counteracted  their  good  effects, 
but  converted  them  into  implements  of  danger  and  de- 
struction. This  passion  he  inherited  from  his  father, 
who  cherished  it  in  the  early  years  of  his  son,  and 
directed  his  infant  gaze  towards  that  eminent  station 
which  he  had  himself  once  occupied.  In  his  education 
nothing  was  left  undone,  that  could  qualify  him  to  attain 
this  object ;  and  no  one  certainly  entered  into  public 
life  with  equal  advantages.  There  is,  however,  an  es- 
sential difference  between  those  quaUties  which  are  cal- 


308  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

culatcd  to  obtain  power,  and  tliose  which  enable  us  to 
make  a  proper  use  of  it.  Unfortunately,  the  system  of 
education  of  Mr.  Pitt  was,  in  politics,  that  which  Lord 
Chesterfield's  is  in  private  fife.  It  was  founded  on  too 
narrow  a  basis,  and  aimed  too  directly  at  its  object.  A 
cultivated  mind  and  a  humane  disposition  will  render 
iheir  possessor  truly  polite  ;  sound  principles  and  a  real 
love  of  mankind,  truly  patriotic ;  but  without  these, 
neither  the  politeness  nor  the  patriotism  is  any  thing 
more  than  a  whited  sepulchre.  The  system  was,  how- 
ever, successful :  the  young  orator  began  his  career  in  a 
manner  the  best  calculated  to  display  his  powers.  As 
he  spoke,  the  hopes  of  freedom  revived ;  corruption 
shrank  before  his  glance,  and  the  nation  hailed  him  as  her 
deliverer ;  but  no  sooner  was  the  prize  within  his  grasp, 
than  he  seized  it  with  an  eagerness,  and  retained  it  with 
a  tenacity,  which  all  the  efforts  of  his  opponents  could 
neither  impede  nor  relax.  Having  thus  obtained  the 
supreme  power,  the  talents  which  had  acquired  it  were 
employed  with  equal  success  to  preserve  it.  The  cor- 
rection of  abuses,  the  removal  of  peculation  and  cormp- 
tion,  the  reform  of  the  representation,  the  extension  of 
religious  and  civil  liberty,  were  now  no  longer  the 
objects  in  view  ;  or  were  only  recalled  at  stated  periods, 
to  show  how  the  minister  could  blast  his  promise  with- 
out breaking  his  faith.  Well  schooled  in  all  the  routine 
and  arcana  of  office,  an  adept  in  the  science  of  finance 
and  taxation,  Mr.  Pitt's  great  accomplishment  was  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  artificial  and  complex  ma- 
chine of  government,  and  his  great  defect,  a  total  insen- 
sibility to  the  feelings  of  mankind,  and  a  thorough 
ignorance  of  the  leading  principles  of  human  nature. 
Unfortunately  for  his  fame  and  for  his  country,  new 
situations    arose,    to    which    the    hackneyed    rules    of  a 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  309 

narrow  policy  were  totally  inapplicable.  A  powerful 
nation,  whose  slavery  had  for  ages  been  its  reproach, 
threw  off  its  shackles,  and  attempted  to  form  for  itself  a 
limited  monarchy.  It  was  Mr.  Pitt's  first  misfortune  to 
be  insensible  to  the  grandeur  of  so  glorious  a  struggle, 
his  second  to  miscalculate  its  consequences.  The  first 
act  of  France  was  to  hold  out  her  emancipated  hands 
to  the  free  states  of  England  and  America ;  but  the 
coldness  of  the  minister  soon  convinced  her  that  in  this 
country  she  was  not  to  expect  a  friend.  That  coldness 
soon  degenerated  into  enmity  and  abhorrence,  and 
through  every  change  of  circumstance  and  situation, 
through  all  the  evolutions  and  forms  of  her  government, 
whether  monarchical,  republican,  aristocratical,  or  des- 
potic, she  found  in  him  a  decided  and  an  inflexible 
enemy.  With  what  success  his  hostility  has  been 
attended  impartial  history  will  show." 

The  attack  upon  Denmark,  a  neutral  state,  not  with 
the  view  of  preventing  a  possible  junction  with  France, 
but  for  the  purpose  of  forestalling  that  nation  in  an  act 
of  unexampled  atrocity,  is  one  of  the  subjects  comment- 
ed upon  in  the  ^'  Considerations,"  and  denounced  with 
all  the  energies  of  the  writer's  mind.  Upon  the  justifi- 
cation of  ''  the  cruel  necessity  which  obliged  the  British 
sovereign  to  have  recourse  to  acts  of  hostility  against  a 
nation,  with  which  it  was  his  most  earnest  desire  to 
have  established  the  relations  of  common  interest  and 
alliance,"  Mr.  Roscoe  observes  ;  "  This  passage  con- 
tains the  complete  avowal  of  the  principle  upon  which 
the  British  ministry  acted.  It  presumes,  not  only  that 
the  laws  of  morality  and  justice,  and  the  rules  of  good 
faith  which  attach  one  individual  or  one  nation  to  anoth- 
er, may  be  dispensed  with  from  temporary  motives,  but 
that  either  of  the  parties  has  a  right  to  judge  of  such 


310  LIFE    OF    WILLIAM    ROSCOE. 

motives,  and  to  disregard  those  niles  whenever  he  may 
lliink  proper.  That  this  doctrine  cannot  be  supported 
must  be  apparent  to  every  one,  from  the  shghtest  ob- 
servation of  the  consequences  to  which  it  must  lead.  At 
DO  period  of  society  have  mankind  been  so  lost  to  the 
dignity  of  their  nature  and  the  interests  of  their  associa- 
tion as  to  avow  it.  Even  states  and  sovereiirns  at  war, 
under  circumstances  of  the  utmost  exasperation,  have 
rejected  it  with  horror ;  and  it  may  truly  be  said,  that 
the  establishment  of  such  a  maxim,  even  between  bel- 
ligerent powers,  is  all  that  is  now  wanting  to  complete 
the  downfal  of  Europe,  and  destroy  the  hopes  of  man- 
kind. Jealousy,  hatred,  assassination,  poison,  treachery, 
cruelty,  and  revenge  are  its  instruments,  to  be  indiscrimi- 
nately employed  as  necessity  requires,  and  upon  these 
grounds  every  crime  and  every  atrocity  may  be  equally 
justified." 

The  feelings  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  when  highly  excited, 
were  often  poured  out  in  verse  ;  and  the  sanguinary  act 
which  he  thus  reprobated  in  his  pamphlet,  became  the 
subject  of  the  following  short  poem. 

Copenhagen. 

—  "  Shroud  me,  shroud  me,  shades  of  night, 
Save  me  from  the  blasting  sight !  " 

Thus  by  Murder's  screams  awoke, 
Britain's  troubled  Genius  spoke, 
Wliilst  beneath  the  nortliern  star 
Gleam'd  the  purple  cloud  of  war. — 

—  Echoinnr  thro'  the  midniglit  skies, 
Slirieks  of  fear  and  anguish  rise, 
As  the  battle's  furious  rao-e 
Spares  nor  infancy  nor  age. — 

—  "  Stay,"  she  cries,  "  ye  rutliless  bands, 
Stay  your  fratricidal  hands  — 

If  your  breasts  with  vengeance  glow, 
Drive  its  fury  on  the  foe  — 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  311 

But  the  wise,  the  just,  the  brave, 
Britain's  glory  is  to  save." 
Hark !  the  war-shouts  louder  swell ; 
Hark  !  the  victor's  tig-er  yell. 

—  Now  the  work  of  death  is  o'er,  » 
Suffering  Nature  bears  no  more  ; 

O'er  the  city's  sea-girt  steeps 
Desolation  sits  and  weeps  ; 
There  the  mother,  wandering  wild, 
Asks  the  stranger  for  her  child. 
And  sacrilegious  feet  have  trod 
O'er  the  prostrate  fanes  of  God. 
Wretches  !  who,  in  evil  hour, 
Seized  the  trident  of  my  power, 
For  whose  guilt  no  time  atones. 
Murderers  !  whom  my  soul  disowns, 
Authors  of  your  country's  shame. 
Recreants  to  a  Briton's  name  ; 
What  could  prompt  your  furious  rage 
Thus  the  war  with  Heaven  to  wage. 
In  its  decrees  refuse  to  trust. 
And  boldly  dare  to  be  unjust  ?  — 
Say,  can  you  pierce  with  steady  eye 
The  folds  of  dark  Futurity, 
Control  the  stubborn  course  of  Fate, 
That  good  from  ill  may  emanate. 
That  thus  you  raise,  by  fear  unaw'd. 
Your  impious  hands  against  your  God  ? 

—  Supreme  Creator  !  he  with  ease 

Can  smooth  the  waves  and  bridge  the  seas, 
Can  raise  the  feeble  and  forlorn. 
And  dash  the  pride  of  man  to  scorn. 
Earth  trembles  at  his  mighty  stroke. 
At  his  touch  the  mountains  smoke. 
And  changing  at  his  powerful  call. 
Successive  nations  rise  and  fall. 
Wretches  !  for  whose  dark  misdeeds 
Thus  my  soul  in  anguish  bleeds, 
By  unprecedented  crimes. 
The  reproach  of  future  times  ; 


312  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Know,  not  long  your  impious  sway 
Tiius  shall  blot  tlie  face  of  day. 

—  Rising  from  its  native  steep, 
Soon  til'  indignant  storm  shall  sweep, 
That  shall  whelm,  in  dire  disgrace. 
You  and  all  your  blood-stained  race. 

—  Then  once  more  in  Britain's  isle, 
Suns  of  brighter  glow  shall  smile. 
And  the  white-robed  lustral  band 
From  pollution  cleanse  the  land  ; 
Then  again  shall  Britain's  name 
Emulate  her  former  fame, 

And  her  arm  be  stretch'd  to  save 
The  just,  the  generous,  and  the  brave ! 

On  the  subject  of  the  attack  upon  Copenhagen,  Mr. 
Roscoe  had  the  misfortune  to  find  his  opinions  at  vari- 
ance with  those  of  some  of  the  political  friends  with 
whom  he  had  been  accustomed  to  act,  —  a  circumstance 
which  he  deeply  regretted,  not  so  much  because  it  placed 
him  in  opposition  to  those  whom  he  loved  and  respected, 
as  because  he  was  deprived  of  their  assistance  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  principles  he  had  so  much  at  heart. 
In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  he  has  expressed  this 
feeling  in  strong  language.  *  *  *  "  What  is  it  that  has 
preserved  the  human  race  from  utter  degradation  and 
ruin,  but  the  assertion  from  time  to  time  of  these  sacred 
principles  of  morality  and  justice,  which  are  daily  and 
hourly  in  danger  of  being  lost  amongst  the  violence  and 
the  wrath,  tJie  prejudices  and  the  passions  of  mankind? 
When  tliese  principles  are  combated  and  denied,  the 
hues  of  demarcation  are  drawn  between  the  opposing 
parties,  and  tlie  last  stand  must  be  made  for  the  preser- 
vation of  that  which  is  dearer  than  life.  With  an  ardent 
spirit,  ])ut  a  feeble  hand,  I  have  ])lungcd  into  the  con- 
test, and  I  naturally  look  round  to  those,  who  have  on 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  313 

Other  occasions  shown  themselves  the  firm  and  fearless 
friends  of  truth,  of  liberty,  and  of  the  best  interests  of 
mankind,  for  their  countenance  and  support ;  or  rather 
for  their  better  and  more  effectual  efforts  to  release  me 
from  a  task  to  which  I  am  unequal.  Must  I  add,  that  I 
look  with  fear,  and  anxiety,  and  dread  !  That  even  in 
the  small  circle,  in  which  I  once  had  the  pleasure  and 
the  honour  of  deliberating  with  you,  for  the  benefit  of  a 
distant  people  and  of  future  times,  I  am  to  reflect  with 
sorrow,  that  there  are  some  with  whom  I  must  now  differ 
on  one  of  the  most  important  questions  that  ever  came 
before  a  nation? 

"  I  have  not  the  presumption  to  arrogate  to  myself  a 
superior  delicacy  of  feeling  on  such  a  subject ;  far  less 
would  I  assume  the  airs  of  a  rhetorical  moralist,  carrying 
his  ideas  to  an  extreme  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of 
human  affairs  ;  but,  if  ever  there  was  a  crime  that  bore 
upon  its  forehead  its  very  name  in  burning  characters, 
and  which  posterity  will  regard  with  peculiar  horror,  it 
is  that  which  perpetrated  the  enormities  at  Copenhagen. 
Nor  will  it  long  escape  notice,  that  this  transaction  was, 
if  possible,  still  more  impolitic  than  it  was  unjust." 

To  another  of  his  political  friends  who  had  justified 
the  conduct  of  the  British  Government  in  this  transac- 
tion, he  wrote  in  lano;ua2;e  of  almost  indiij-nant  sorrow  :  — 

^'  I  certainly  had  flattered  myself,  that  if  there  was  a 
man  in  the  kingdom,  in  whose  sight  the  opinions  avowed 
in  my  late  publication  would  have  found  favour,  it  was 
yourself,  and  I  may  truly  add  that  if  there  was  any  part 
of  it,  which  I  thought  more  likely  than  tlie  rest  to  obtain 
this  honour,  it  was  that  which  related  to  the  attack  upon 
Denmark. 

"  I  know  of  no  circumstance  that  could  have  damped 
my  hopes  and  depressed  my  feelings  so  much  as  to  find 

VOL.  I.  27 


314  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

that  this  is  not  the  case  :  and  I  naturally  ask  myself 
what  is  to  be  expected  from  others,  when  those,  on 
whose  countenance  and  support  I  chiefly  reckoned,  in 
the  humble  attempt  1  had  made  to  inform  the  judgment 
of  the  public,  see  this  great  object  in  a  totally  different 
point  of  view."  —  ''  But,  independently  of  the  particular 
nature  and  horrid  consequences  of  this  transaction,  I 
must  avow  my  decided  opinion,  that  if  the  maxims  and 
principles  upon  which  such  a  transaction  can  alone  be 
justified,  be  once  established,  there  is  an  end  of  every 
thing  that  is  sacred,  just,  and  honourable  amongst  man- 
kind. Treaties  are  no  longer  of  any  avail,  and  fraud  and 
force  will  henceforth  contend  for  mastery  with  each 
other.  If  such  a  pretext  as  that  for  the  attack  on  Co- 
penhagen be  a  sufficient  justification,  I  will  forfeit  my 
head  if  there  ever  be  one  wanting  to  the  end  of  time, 
for  the  greatest  atrocity  that  the  human  imagination  can 
devise.  What  is  the  final  and  essential  cause  of  all  the 
despotism  on  earth,  but  the  tyrant's  apprehension  that 
if  he  does  not  cut  ofl:'  and  destroy  those  around  him, 
some  danger,  immediate  or  remote,  may  be  apprehended 
to  himself,  and,  therefore,  his  self-preservation,  or  what 
is  called  necessity,  compels  him  to  have  recourse  to 
bloody  and  destructive  measures.  When  I  reflect  that 
fear  has  no  limits,  and  that  cruelty  derives  new  fierceness 
from  gratification,  when  I  am  told  that  the  maxims  of 
Bona})arte  are  henceforth  to  become  the  maxims  of 
Great  Britain,  I  tremble  for  the  independence  and  the 
fate  of  what  yet  remains  of  Europe;  and  see  no  repose 
for  mankind  till  they  are  absorbed  in  that  dreadful  gulf  of 
universal  dominion,  or  rather  of  universal  subjugation, 
towards  which  we  are  so  rapidly  tending." 

The   success  of  the    ^'  Considerations  "  far  exceeded 
the  expectations  of  the  author.     The  pamphlet,  which 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  315 

was  published  in  January,  at  the  commencement  of  Feb- 
ruary had  reached  its  fourth  edition  ;  and  in  the  course 
of  the  year,  eight  large  impressions  of  it  were  demanded 
by  the  public.     Like  every  successful  political  work,  it 
attracted  various  replies ;  one  of  which  appeared  at  Liv- 
erpool, another  in  Edinburgh,  and  a  third  in  London. 
Mr.  Cobbett  also  devoted  three  letters  in  his  "Reci^ister" 
to  the  consideration  of  its  merits.     But  the  idea  that  he 
had  contributed  in  any  degree  to  forward  the  cause  of 
peace,  was  a  full  compensation  to  Mr.  Roscoe  for  the 
obloquy  and  abuse  with  which  his  writings  were  recdved 
by  his  adversaries.     "  It  cannot,"  he  says  in  a  letter  to 
one  of  his  correspondents,  *'  have   escaped  your  pene- 
tration how  open  my  pamphlet  is,  from  the  nature  of  the 
subjects  there  discussed,  to  misrepresentations  of  various 
kinds,  which  I  have  not  thought  proper  to  guard  against, 
as  is  the   fashion  of  the  times,  by  obtrusive  professions 
of  loyalty  or  continual  abuse  of  our  enemies.     Having 
never,  either  in  word,  thought,  or  action,  given  ground 
for  such  imputations  as  some  of  my  critics  have,  I  find, 
throwTi  out  against  me,  I  should  feel  it  a  humiliatijDn  to 
vindicate  that  loyalty  to  my  Sovereign,  and  attachment 
to  my  country,  which  no  one   has  just  grounds  to  im- 
peach ;  and  shall  leave  it  to  the  public  to  judge  between 
me   and  my  assailants,  without   further  answer."      By 
inany^  of  his  political  friends  he  had  the  pleasure  of  find- 
ing his  work  spoken  of  in  terms  of  warm  admiration  ; 
and  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Whitbread,  who,  like 
himself,  had  the  subject  of  peace  "  nearest  to  his  heart," 
and  whose  labours  in  parliament  were  at  this  time  espe- 
cially directed  to  the  same  object,  afforded  Mr.  Roscoe 
the  highest  satisfaction  :  — 

'^  I  was  highly  gratified  by  the  attention  you  were  so 
good  as  to  show  me  in  ordering  a  copy  of  your  pamphlet 


316  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

to  be  sent  to  me,  as  every  testimony  of  your  regard  and 
approbation  is  of  tbe  highest  value  in  my  estimation.  I 
read  the  work  with  the  avidity  which  my  knowledge  of 
the  merits  of  the  author  in  every  way  was  so  well  calcu- 
lated to  excite,  as  well  as  the  subject  which  he  had 
treated,  which  of  all  others  is  the  nearest  to  mv  heart. 
You  may  believe  me,  when  I  assure  you  that  (exclusive 
of  the  note  which  is  so  peculiarly  pleasant  to  me  person- 
ally, and  for  which  I  sincerely  thank  you)  my  expec- 
tations, however  highly  raised,  were  perfectly  satisfied, 
and  that  I  esteem  the  production  worthy  of  your  fame 
and  of  the  great  work  respecting  which  you  have  written. 
The  positions  you  have  taken  are  impregnable  ;  the 
truths  you  have  told  are  incontrovertible :  and  if  any 
thing  can  give  them  their  due  weight  in  these  disastrous 
times  of  fright  and  delusion,  it  will  be  the  temperate 
and  conciliating  manner  in  which  you  have  stated  them. 
The  public  of  these  kingdoms  and  the  Avorld  are  greatly 
indebted  to  you  for  your  labors  ;  would  1  could  hope  the 
English  public  would  allow  the  rest  of  mankind  to  profit 
by  them. 

"  You  will  have  perceived  that  I  gave  notice  some 
days  since  of  my  intention  of  submitting  to  the  House  a 
direct  proposition  on  the  subject  of  peace.  I  delay  it 
for  the  purpose  of  seeing  whether  any  further  step  will 
be  taken  by  the  French  Emperor  in  consequence  of  the 
foolish  and  insolent  refusal  of  his  overtures,  and  because  I 
think,  for  some  parliamentary  reasons,  it  may  be  brought 
forward  with  greater  effect  a  short  time  hence.  You 
have  given  me  powerful  assistance.  I  wish  you  were 
amongst  us,  that  I  might  derive  further  aid  from  your 
exertions  in  the  House  ;  and  in  that  wish  I  am  sure  I 
am  joined  by  all  who  value  indejiendence,  ability,  and 
integrity.      You  avowed  your  opinion  of  the  propriety  of 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  317 

my  conduct,  at  a  time  when  I  felt  myself  impelled  to  act 
by  motives  too  powerful  for  restraint.  Many  who  then 
joined  in  the  attempt  to  restrain  me,  now  give  me  the 
late  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  they  agreed  with  me  in 
opinion  at  the  time.  I  thank  them  for  their  frankness, 
and  it  gives  me  additional  courage  to  proceed." 

In  the  course  of  his  speech  on  bringing  forwards  his 
promised  motion,  Mr.  Whitbread  took  the  opportunity 
of  referring  to  the  unceasing  labours  of  Mr.  Roscoe  in 
the  same  cause,  a  circumstance  most  pleasing  to  the 
feelings  of  the  latter.  ''  As  to  myself,"  he  says,  in  a 
letter  to  Mrs.  Rathbone,  ''  I  will  confess  to  you  I  am 
gratified  beyond  the  extent  of  my  hopes  by  the  circum- 
stance which  occurred  in  the  House  on  Thursday  night. 
To  be  mentioned  with  approbation  by  such  a  man,  and 
on  such  an  occasion,  when  the  eloquence  of  the  tongue 
was  prompted  by  the  best  feelings  of  the  heart,  is,  in- 
deed, a  triumph,  the  more  gratifying  the  more  it  was 
unexpected." 

The  anxiety  experienced  by  Mr.  Roscoe  that  his 
pamphlet  should  be  favourably  received  in  quarters  where 
it  might  produce  impressions  serviceable  to  the  cause  of 
peace,  appears  from  the  following  letter,  addressed  to 
Mr.  Wilberforce,  on  the  30th  January,  1808  :  — 

"  Before  I  had  the  pleasure  of  your  obliging  communi- 
cation, I  had  desired  my  bookseller  to  send  you  a  copy 
of  my  pamphlet,  which  I  liope  you  have  received.  How 
happy  should  I  be,  my  dear  Sir,  if  I  could  flatter  myself 
that  I  agreed  with  you  on  all  subjects,  as  precisely  as  on 
that  on  which  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seconding 
your  efforts  ;  and  this,  not  merely  for  my  own  gratifica- 
tion, though  I  confess  that  would  be  great  indeed,  but 
because,  from  your  extensive  influence,  great  talents,  and 
unexampled  perseverance  in  every  benevolent  purpose, 
27  # 


318  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

I  should  yet  flatter  myself  with  the  hope  of  seemg  the 
calamities  with  which  this  country  and  mankind  are  threat- 
ened effectually  removed.  Knowing  as  I  do,  through 
every  different  shade  of  opinion  between  us,  the  perfect 
rectitude  of  your  views,  with  what  delight  should  I  see 
you  advocate  the  cause  of  suffering  Europe,  or  rather  the 
cause  of  the  civilised  world,  with  the  same  energy  and 
success  as  you  have  done  that  of  the  oppressed  Africans. 
I  see  with  terror,  not  only  the  political,  but  the  moral 
horizon  daily  grow  darker,  and  I  look  up  with  anxiety  to 
those  few  who  alone  can  dispel  the  gloom,  and  whom  I 
consider  as  the  lights  of  mankind.  I  cannot,  however, 
venture  to  flatter  myself  that  any  representations  of  mine 
can  influence  their  determination,  nor  am  I  indeed  insen- 
sible, that  the  earnestness  with  which  I  have  enforced 
my  own  opinions,  may,  in  many  instances,  rather  give 
offence  than  produce  conviction.  If,  however,  I  have 
written  with  warmth,  many  of  those  who  espouse  an 
opposite  opinion  have  more  than  set  the  example,  and 
as  I  feel  the  most  decided  co^iviction  in  my  own  mind, 
that  I  am  actuated  by  no  other  motive  than  a  wish  to 
promote  the  cause  of  sacred  morality  and  the  true  inter- 
ests of  my  country,  as  far  as  consistent  with  the  general 
rights  of  mankind,  I  should  think  myself  inexcusable 
WTre  I  to  engage  in  the  contest  with  '  a  cold  and  unper- 
forming  hand.'  At  all  events,  you  will,  I  trust,  allow 
me  to  retain  some  share  of  your  indulgence  and  fiivoura- 
ble  opinion,  assured,  as  you  may  be,  that  no  difference 
as  to  means,  mode,  or  manner  (for  as  to  the  main  end, 
and  object,  and  view,  it  is  impossible  we  can  disagree) 
can  ev^er  diminish  the  liigh  respect,  and  allow  me  to  add, 
the  affectionate  attachment,  with  which  I  am,  &c.  &ic." 

The  impression  made  by  this  pamphlet  is  noticed  in 
a  letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Kuscoo  to  Dr.  Parr,  and  dated 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  319 

the  1st  of  February,  1808:  —  "May  I  hope,  my  dear 
Sir,  that  if  my  hasty  pubheation  should  engage  your 
attention,  I  may  have  your  favourable  construction,  at 
least  as  to  my  intentions  and  views  ?  It  has  been  already 
much  noticed  in  London,  where  it  w^as  published  a  week 
since,  and  I  have  this  morning  a  line  from  my  printer, 
M'Creery,  to  say  that  he  has  just  put  to  press  a  fourth 
edition.  By  many  it  is  well  spoken  of;  by  some,  and 
those  amongst  my  friends  in  politics,  it  is  complained  of 
as  bearing  hard  on  the  late  administration  ;  and  by  others, 
the  advocates  of  w^ar  and  desolation,  it  is  abused  in  gross 
and  open  terms.  I  hope,  however,  that  you  will  find, 
that  on  all  the  great  points  of  politics  and  of  morality, 
I  have  not  deserted  those  principles  which  I  have  the 
pleasure  to  know  we  hold  in  common." 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  this  pamphlet,  Mr.  Ros- 
coe  was  induced,  in  consequence  of  certain  papers  re- 
specting the  proposals  for  peace  being  laid  before  parlia- 
ment, to  appear  again  before  the  public  in  a  short  tract  in- 
tended as  a  sequel  to  the  "  Considerations."  This  tract, 
which  he  entitled,  "  Remarks  on  the  Proposals  made 
to  Great  Britain  for  opening  Negociations  for  Peace, 
in  the  Year  1807,"  was  written  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing that  the  ministers,  whilst  they  professed  themselves 
favourable  to  peace,  had,  in  three  distinct  instances,  de- 
monstrated in  the  most  decided  manner,  their  unwilling- 
ness even  to  enter  upon  a  negociation  for  it.  He  then 
states  the  real  nature  and  tendency  of  the  petitions  for 
peace,  and  lastly  contends,  that  if,  after  all,  it  should  be 
unattainable,  the  war  ought  to  be  conducted  in  a  manner 
honourable  to  the  country.  To  this  tract  he  added  a 
preface  of  considerable  length,  in  which  he  shows  the 
application  of  the  principles  of  morals  to  the  intercourse 
of  states,  and  pleads  in  strong  and  feeling  language  the 


320  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

cause  of  veracity,  good  faith,  and  honour.  The  follow- 
ing passages  are  not  perhaps  exceeded  in  any  part  of  his 
works. 

*'  The  truth  is,  that  a  patriot  must  be  a  virtuous  man, 
and  a  virtuous  man  will  not  commit  or  encourage  injus- 
tice  for  the   sake   either  of  himself  or  others.      After 
having  participated  his  affections  with  those  around  him, 
he  will  be  anxious   to   promote   their  interests ;  but  he 
\vill  promote  them  only  in  the  same  manner  as  he  would 
his  own.     Schooled  to  the  restraint  of  his  own  passions, 
he  will  not  flatter  and  inflame  those  of  the  populace.     In 
acting  for  his  country  he  will  seek  for  no  advantages,  but 
such  as,  under  similar  circumstances,  he  would  endeavour 
to  obtain  for  himself.     If  in  the   one  case  he  would  not 
waylay  and  rob  an  unsuspecting  neighbour,  in  the  other 
he  would  not  enrich  his  country  by  piracy,  violence,  and 
spoil.     In  this  he  would  do,  not  only  what  is  abstractedly 
right,  but  what  is  truly  and  ultimately  for  the  real  inter- 
ests of  his  country.     The  globe  is  a  society  of  states, 
and  nations  as  well  as  individuals  have  each  their  peculiar 
character.      To  grasp  at  temporary  advantages,  to  op- 
press a  weaker,  or  circumvent  an  incautious  neighbour, 
may  frequently,  in  private  life,  be  attended  with  success ; 
and  states  and  nations  may,  in  like  manner,  seem  for  a 
while,  by  a  similar  conduct,  to  promote  their  prosperity. 
But  the  foundation  is  unsound,  and  the  edifice  of  their 
greatness  .is  built  on  sand.     By  the  system  of  Providence 
and  the  constitution  of  human  affairs,  a  continual  barrier 
is    forming    against   such    unjust    aggressions,  which  are 
counteracted  by  the  influence  of  public  opinion,  the  dis- 
trust and  resentment  of  sourrounding  states,  and  a  thou- 
sand unforeseen  circumstances,  that  either  frustrate  the 
expected  advantage  or  retaliate  its  injustice,  and  not  un- 
frequently  subject  the  aggressor  to   the  very  evils  intend- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  321 

ed  to  be  inflicted  on  others.  It  is,  therefore,  only  by 
strictly  conforming  to  the  eternal  principles  of  right  and 
justice,  that  we  can  consult  either  our  own  honour  or  our 
own  interest ;  and  to  desert  those  principles  when  a  par- 
ticular occasion  puts  them  to  the  test,  is  to  exclude  our- 
selves, by  our  own  act,  from  the  pale  of  civilised  society, 
and  to  render  ourselves  as  it  were  outlaws  to  the  rest  of 
the  world. 

"  Such  appear  to  be  the  positive  and  relative  duties  of 
the  subjects  of  a  free  state  ;  but  if  they  who  obey  be  ac- 
countable both  to  themselves  and  the  public  for  the  pro- 
priety of  their  conduct,  they  who  are  intrusted  with  the 
executive  power  of  a  state  have  a  still  more  weighty  task 
imposed  on  them.  In  claiming  from  the  people  a  gene- 
ral assent  to  their  measures,  and  a  perfect  unanimity  of 
support,  they  must  take  care  that  such  measures  are  con- 
sistent with  the  acknowledged  laws  of  universal  justice,  and 
are  not  subversive  of  those  first  principles  of  morals  which 
are  antecedent  to  every  other  law  of  society.  As  man  to 
man,  there  are  certain  duties  incumbent  on  us,  the  viola- 
tion of  which  no  pretext  of  political  necessity  or  national 
hostility  can  justify.  To  inculcate  upon  the  people  ideas 
of  a  contrary  tendency,  and  to  weaken  their  faith  in  the 
existence  of  political  virtue,  is  not  less  impolitic  than  it  is 
erroneous.  That  governments  as  well  as  individuals  are 
actuated  only  by  selfish  motives,  and  that  the  professions 
which  they  are  continually  making  of  veracity,  fidelity, 
honour,  and  frankness,  are  merely  a  cloak  for  their  crimi- 
nal views,  are  sentiments  which  it  is  thought  a  mark  of 
penetration  to  have  discovered,  and  a  proof  of  sincerity 
to  avow.  But  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  sagacity 
of  such  politicians,  to  act  upon  the  conviction  of  such 
sentiments  is  dangerous.  God  has  not  abandoned  his 
creatures,  nor  are  the  common  feelings  of  human  nature 


322  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

wholly  extinguished  amongst  mankind.  If  there  be  de- 
pravity, there  is  yet  integrity ;  if  there  be  oppression, 
there  is  yet  sympathy  ;  if  there  be  baseness,  there  is  yet 
honour ;  if  there  be  treachery,  violence,  and  rapine,  there 
are  still  the  unextinguishable  feelings  of  virtuous  indigna- 
tion and  generous  contempt ;  and  they  who  direct  their 
conduct,  either  in  public  or  in  private  hfe,  with  a  total 
disregard  to  these  truths,  will,  whatever  may  be  their  tem- 
porary success,  incur,  upon  the  whole,  not  only  disap- 
pointment but  disgrace." 

Previously  to  the  publication  of  this  tract,  Mr.  Roscoe 
was  very  desirous  of  submitting  it  to  the  excellent  judg- 
ment of  Mr.  Whitbread,  whose  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
peace  was  equally  ardent  with  his  own.  The  readiness 
with  which  the  latter  consented  to  perform  this  friendly 
office  rendered  the  service  still  more  acceptable.  ''  Whit- 
bread, who  is  a  divine  man,"  says  Mr.  Rathbone,  who 
was  then  in  London  with  the  view  of  forwardimr  the  re- 
peal  of  the  celebrated  Orders  in  Council,  "  is  very 
anxious  you  should  publish,  and  confident  it  will  do  great 
good.  Do  not  think  I  wish  to  pay  comphments :  I  would 
avoid  them,  could  1  otherwise  say  what  I  think.  But  he 
says,  and  I  so  clearly  see,  that  your  name  will  do  much. 
He  expressed  the  great  pleasure  it  would  give  him  to  re- 
vise it,  and  an  assurance  that  he  would  offer  his  unfeijrn- 
ed  opinion,  and  you  might  then  do  as  you  thought  best. 
We  also  agreed  that  it  would  prove  the  most  dignified 
conduct  to  come  forwards  boldly  and  manfully  again,  and 
without  noticing  any  attack  of  Cobbett,  or  any  other  per- 
son, tell  the  country  what  it  imports  them  to  know.  This 
we  think  is  the  way  to  keep  the  high  and  firm  ground  on 
which  you  stand.  You  will  judge  for  yourself.  Make 
use  of  me  in  wliat  way  you  please  ;  and  with  much  more 
effect  you  may  make  use  of  Whitbread.     He  is,  indeed, 


LIFE     OF      WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  323 

a  delightful  man :  we  have  all  at  once  jumped  into  an  in- 
timacy, and  I  cleave  to  him  as  a  brother  or  a  bosom 
friend."  In  a  letter  written  shortly  after  the  preceding, 
Mr.  Rathbone  says,  "  Mr.  Whitbread  told  me  that  he  had 
written  to  you,  and  Mr,  Brougham  assured  me  his  re- 
marks should  go  to  you  by  the  post  of  the  1 2th  (the  day 
on  which  we  left  London),  which  I  strongly  urged.  INIr. 
W.  said  you  and  he  had  viewed  some  parts  of  the  subject 
in  different  lights ;  but  this  did  not,  in  his  opinion,  lessen 
the  value  of  your  publication.  I  am  strongly  of  the  same 
opinion.  His  is  an  excellent  speech ;  and  some  parts 
towards  the  conclusion  are  admirably  impressive.  Yet  it 
does  not,  on  the  whole,  appear  to  me  calculated  to  pro- 
duce conviction  in  the  way  that  your  pamplilet  is  ;  nor  do 
I  expect  it  will  be  so  generally  read ;  and  this  was  the 
opinion  of  Ridgway.  I  hope  it  is  now  come  out,  or  that 
its  appearance  will  soon  take  place,  for  I  think  it  should 
follow  Mr.  Whitbread's  pretty  soon ;  and  I  hope,  also, 
that  you  have  not  pruned  it  too  much,  in  compliance  with 
the  suggestions  of  very  prudential  critics.  With  a  large 
class,  we  must  expect  all  works  of  such  tendency  to  be 
very  unpopular ;  and  I  see  no  signs  that  the  violence  or 
the  acrimony  of  party  spirit  is  likely  to  subside  or  even 
abate.  This  may  render  caution  requisite  in  respect  to 
the  issuing  of  any  publications,  or  taking  any  part  in  pub- 
lic measures  ;  but  it  appears  to  me,  that  if  either  of  these 
are  advisable,  then  the  only  line  to  be  pursued  is  to  be 
explicit,  vigorous,  and  decided." 

The  pamphlet  was  subsequently  submitted,  in  the 
proofs,  to  Mr.  Whitbread ;  and  most  of  the  alterations 
suggested  by  him,  chiefly  relating  to  matters  of  fiict, 
were  adopted  by  the  author.*  The  proofs  were  accom- 
panied by  the  following  letter  : — 

*  The  copy  sent  to  Mr.  Whitbread,  and  returned  by  him,  was  care- 


324  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

"  At  length  I  take  the  hberty  of  returning  the  pamph- 
let which  you  were  so  good  as  to  submit  to  my  perusal, 
with  such  remarks  as  have  sui!;o;ested  themselves  to  me  in 
the  course  of  it.  I  have  been  prevented,  by  the  con- 
stant pressure  of  material  business,  from  giving  earlier  at- 
tention to  it,  in  the  way  in  which  I  wislied  to  do  it ;  and, 
indeed,  I  was  anxious  you  should  see  the  report  of  my 
speech,  before  you  finally  decided  upon  the  difference 
between  us,  in  some  of  our  respective  conclusions  drawn 
from  the  papers.  I  directed  Ridgway  to  send  you  three 
copies  of  my  speech,  begging  you  to  accept  one  for  your- 
self, and  requesting  the  favour  of  you  to  give  one  copy  to 
Mr.  Martin  and  one  to  Mr.  Rathbone,  who  will,  I  believe, 
have  quitted  London  before  this  time. 

"  The  spirit  of  equity,  toleration,  philanthropy,  and 
patriotism,  which  pervades  your  pamphlet,  is  your  own, 
and  I  have  not  the  smallest  doubt  but  that  its  publication 
will  do  essential  service  to  the  cause  we  espouse  ;  and, 
indeed,  it  wants  assistance. 

"  If  I  might  suggest  any  improvement,  it  would  be  the 
compression  of  the  preface,  as  being  rather  too  long  for  a 
work  of  such  a  size.  The  sentiments  are  admirable 
throudiout,  and  the  lansjuao-e  is  such  as  was  to  be  ex- 
pected  from  its  author." 

"  It  is  upwards  of  a  week,"  says  Mr.  Roscoe,  in  an- 
swer to  the  above  letter,  "  since  I  received  the  proof  copy 
of  my  intended  pamphlet,  which  had  been  sent  you  by 
my  printer,  accompanied  by  your  letter  and  very  judicious 
remarks ;  but  it  was  not  till  yesterday  that  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  receiving  the  copies  which  you  were  so  good 

fully  preserved  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  who  has  written  on  the  fly-leaf  the 
followinir  mnmorandum: — "  Tiio  late  Mr.  Whitbroad  did  me  the 
favour  of  perusing  this  j)ainplilot  before  it  was  published,  and  the  ob- 
servations upon  it  arc  in  his  liandwriling." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  325 

as  to  order  to  be  sent  me  of  your  speech,  for  which  I  beg 
you  to  accept  my  thanks,  as  well  on  my  own  account  as 
.  for  my  friends,  Mr.  R.  and  Mr.  M.,  who  will  think  them- 
selves much  honoured  by  your  remembrance  of  them. 
The  perusal  of  this  last  noble  effort  on  your  part,  to 
enlighten  our  countrymen  as  to  their  true  interests,  has 
only  confirmed  the  opinion  I  have  so  long  entertained 
of  the  perfect  rectitude  of  your  principles  and  the  cor- 
rectness of  your  views.  How  it  is  possible  for  sophis- 
try to  misrepresent  or  dulness  to  misconceive  such 
statements,  is  to  me  incomprehensible  ;  such,  however, 
is  the  present  state  of  the  public  mind,  that  the  stronger 
the  light  becomes  the  more  obstinate  the  people  are  in 
closing  their  eyes  against  it.  A  wilful  i  nflexibility  seems 
to  pervade  all  ranks  ;  and  if  ever  the  hearts  of  a  peo- 
ple were  hardened,  they  are  certainly  those  of  our  own 
countrymen. 

"  I  have  lost  no  time  in  comparing  the  passages  mark- 
ed by  you  in  my  pamphlet,  with  those  which  touch  on 
the  same  subject  in  your  speech,  and  in  some  instances 
I  have  implicitly  adopted  your  recommendations,  whilst 
in  others  I  have  ventured  to  adhere  to  the  views  I  had 
before  taken  of  the  subject." 

In  pursuance  of  Mr.  Whitbread's  suggestion,  a  portion 
of  the  preface  was  omitted,  and  amongst  other  passages 
the  following  expression  of  the  writer's  feehngs  with  re- 
gard to  the  attacks  upon  his  former  pamplilet :  — 

"  With  respect  to  my  own  personal  feelings,  I  am 
well  aware  that  it  would  have  been  highly  inconsiderate, 
at  a  season  like  the  present,  for  me  to  have  quitted  my 
retirement,  and  entered  on  the  turbulent  stage  of  politi- 
cal controversy,  if  I  had  not  been  prepared  for  eveiy 
consequence  to  which  such  a  measure  might  give  rise 
On  this  occasion  I  may  be  allowed,   like  the    younger 

VOL.  I.  28 


326  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

Pliny,  when  he  was  entreated  by  his  friends  to  desist 
from  the  dangerous  task  of  avenging  the  cause  and 
bringing  to  pubhc  justice  the  murderers  of  Helvidius, 
to  adopt  the  language  of  Virgil  :  — 


) « 


'  Omnia  percepi,  atque  animo  mecum  ante  peregi. 

This  tract  did  not  meet  with  the  same  degree  of  at- 
tention as  its  predecessor ;  and  in  despite  of  the  exer- 
tions of  those  who,  like  ]\Ir.  Roscoe,  laboured  in  the 
cause  of  peace,  the  supporters  of  the  war  continued  to 
make  proselytes.  A  fresh  arena  was  opened  for  the 
combatants  in  Spain,  and  all  idea  of  pacification  was  lost 
in  the  hope  of  defeating  the  enemy  in  this  new  strug- 
gle. On  this  topic  Mr.  Roscoe  touches  in  the  following 
letter  to  Professor  Smyth  :  — 

''  My  polite  critics  were  never  more  mistaken  than 
when  they  assert  that  I  have  a  rage  for  writing  pam- 
phlets, whilst  the  fact  is,  that  the  hesitation  and  reluctance 
I  feel  on  such  occasions  are  inexpressible.  Who  can 
have  any  pleasure  in  putting  his  head  into  such  a  hor- 
net's nest  ?  or  in  being  held  up  to  the  pubhc  as  a  scare- 
crow ?  or  what,  but  an  idea  (right  or  wrong)  that  what 
I  have  to  say  is  of  some  importance,  could  induce  me 
to  undergo  such  an  ordeal  ? 

"  I  think  with  you  that  the  last  pamphlet  was  too 
late,  and  what  interest  it  had  has  been  wholly  taken  1 
away  by  new  circumstances  and  events,  in  which  some  ! 
persons  foresee  the  liberation  of  Europe.  TJie  liberation  , 
of  Europe !  alas !  what  can  liberate  countries  sunk  in  | 
the  darkest  superstition — -the  devoted  slaves  of  despotic 
autliority  —  who  dispute  only  for  the  right  of  bringing 
back  their  former  tyrants,  adoring  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  i 
burning  tlieir  neighbours  ?  I  execrate  the  rapacity  and  j 
ambition  of  Bonaparte,  and  should  be  truly  glad  to  see     i 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  327 

his  projects  defeated ;  but  with  respect  to  Spain  and 
Portugal,  if  the  only  result  be  that  which  is  professed 
by  themselves  and  confirmed  by  our  government,  that 
they  are  to  return  to  the  authority  of  their  former  dynas- 
ties, under  the  wretched  governments  which  have  so 
long  oppressed  them ;  if,  after  having  driven  out  the 
invader,  they  are  to  relapse  into  the  same  intellectual 
and  moral  imbecility  in  which  they  have  so  long  re- 
mained, I  see  little  at  which  liberty  can  congratulate 
herself  or  humanity  rejoice.  My  wishes,  however,  go 
with  them.  They  are  struggling,  if  not  for  civil  or 
political  freedom,  for  national  independence  ;  and  if  they 
should  accomplish  it  by  their  valour,  it  is  yet  to  be 
hoped  that  they  will  not  resign,  unconditionally,  into  the 
hands  of  their  former  rulers,  those  rights  which  they 
have  preserved  from  the  violation  of  foreign  arms." 

By  many  of  the  friends  whose  judgment  he  valued, 
Mr.  Roscoe  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  these 
efforts  in  the  cause  of  peace  were  approved. 

"  The  pleasure  which  I  received,"  says  Mr.  James 
Grahame,  the  author  of  the  beautiful  poem  of  ^'  The 
Sabbath,"  ^'  from  the  reperusal  of  your  Considerations 
on  the  causes,  objects,  and  consequences  of  the  present 
war,  was  alloyed  with  some  portion  of  disappointment. 
The  fifth  edition  is,  I  see,  before  the  public ;  and  yet 
the  war-whoop  is  as  loud  as  ever,  and  was  as  loud,  be- 
fore the  dawn  of  the  Spanish  revolution  had  opened  a 
new  prospect  to  our  view.  That  your  impressive,  your 
unanswerable  arguments  must  have  sunk  deep  into  the 
minds  of  thousands,  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  but  on  the 
mass  of  this  people  I  fear  that  no  impression  can  be 
made  throuo;h  the  medium  of  their  reason.  They  have 
ears,  but  they  hear  not.  They  exhibit  an  instance  of 
that  obduracy  in  folly  and  in  pride  which  so  frequently 


328  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

precedes  the  downfall  of  nations.  The  preface  to  the 
remarks  had  quite  an  exhilarating  efiect.  Your  observa- 
tions on  national  ethics  are  most  excellent  in  themselves, 
and  they  are  well  calculated  to  impress  the  two  great 
divisions  of  mankind,  the  generous  and  the  selfish.  I 
was  particularly  struck,  and  indeed  solaced,  by  a  fine 
passage,  of  which  the  following  words  are  a  part  :  — 
'God  has  not  abandoned  his  creatures,'  &ic.  I  tliank 
you  most  heartily  for  the  present.  I  prized  the  '  Con- 
siderations'  very  high  before  they  had  acquired  the 
additional  value  which,  as  coming  from  yourself,  they 
now  possess.  I  feel,  indeed,  much  honoured  by  such  a 
gift,  and  much  gratified  by  the  expressions  which  ac- 
company it.  To  be  acknowledged  by  you  as  no  un- 
worthy ally  in  the  cause  of  justice  and  humanity  is 
truly  most  pleasing. 

''  The  Spanish  revolution  has  undoubtedly  produced  a 
conjuncture  to  which  some  of  your  arguments  will  not 
apply ;  yet  the  general  strain  of  your  reasoning  will 
suit  all  times  of  warfare  ;  for  every  war,  even  this  of 
Spanish  freedom  against  French  despotism,  ought  to  be 
waired  Cso  far  I  mean  as  the  directin";  councils  are  con- 
cerned)  in  the  spirit  of  peace.  I  own  I  am  sanguine 
with  regard  to  Spain.  I  would  like  to  know  your  opin- 
ion." 

The  interest  which  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  Spaniards 
to  escape  the  dominion  of  France  excited  in  the  breast 
of  ]\Ir.  Roscoe,  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  pas- 
sage in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  present  Marquis  of 
Lansdowne  :  — 

"  Since  the  publication  of  the  two  pamphlets  which 
your  Lordship  is  so  good  as  to  notice,  a  new  aspect  of 
public  affairs  has  taken  place,  and  any  interest  which 
they  might  have  excited  is  lost  in  the  great  and  unex- 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  329 

pected  events  which  have  since  occurred.  Some  of  our 
modern  pohticians  seem  at  a  loss  to  reconcile  an  attach- 
ment to  the  cause  of  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  with 
the  dislike  which  every  friend  of  civil  and  religious  liber- 
ty must  feel  for  their  despotic  and  intolerant  institutions ; 
but  this  is  not  the  question.  The  struggle  is  for  national 
independence,  whatever  form  of  government  or  mode  of 
religious  worship  they  may  choose  to  adopt;  and  the 
point  in  debate  is  whether  they  shall  submit  themselves 
like  slaves  to  an  imperious  usurper,  or  assert  their  rights 
as  a  nation  to  adopt  such  sovereign  and  such  form  of 
government  as  they  may  think  proper.  Upon  this  sub- 
ject there  can  scarcely  be  a  difference  of  opinion  ;  par- 
ticularly amongst  those  who  so  strenuously  contended 
that  France  had  a  similar  right,  and  was  very  unjustly 
attacked  in  the  exercise  of  it  by  her  despotic  neighbours. 
The  consequences  of  the  events  that  have  already  oc- 
curred are  highly  important  to  this  country,  if  Spain  and 
Portugal  can  be  considered,  as  I  truly  think  they  may, 
as  freed  from  the  dominion  of  France  ;  and  although 
such  events  may  not  lead  to  a  peace,  they  will  open  an 
intercourse  between  us  and  the  continents  of  Europe 
and  South  America  in  the  highest  degree  advanta- 
geous." 

Again,  in  reference  to  the  negotiations  which  took 
place  in  the  year  1809,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Whitbread 
he  says,  —  "  If  Spain,  after  the  glorious  struggle  she  is 
making,  and  all  the  assistance  this  country  can  afford  her, 
should  be  eventually  conquered,  there  is  nothing  to  be 
done  but  to  submit  to  unavoidable  events,  and  to  wait 
for  better  times  ;  but  to  have  abandoned  our  brave  allies, 
and  delivered  them  over  by  our  own  voluntary  act  to 
their  tyrannical  oppressor,  would  have  entailed  on  this 
country  a  degree  of  infamy  never  to  have  been  removed. 
28* 


330  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

I  could  not  even  have  supposed  that  any  proposals  could 
have  been  made  for  negotiation,  in  which  the  independ- 
ence of  Spain  was  not  taken  as  the  basis ;  and  as  this 
now  appears  not  to  have  been  the  case,  our  ministers 
were,  in  my  humble  opinion,  perfectly  right  in  terminat- 
ing the  correspondence.  If  they  had  always  conducted 
themselves  with  the  same  propriety  and  good  faith,  I 
should  have  been  as  happy,  at  least,  to  have  api)lauded 
their  conduct  as  I  ever  have  been  to  censure  it." 

It  was  a  matter  of  regret  to  Mr.  Roscoe  that  his  ar- 
guments in  favour  of  peace  failed,  in  some  instances,  to 
influence  the  minds  of  those  whose  political  principles 
were  in  other  respects  in  perfect  accordance  with  his 
own.  To  one  of  his  friends,  for  whose  public  and 
private  character  he  entertained  the  highest  esteem,  but 
who  differed  from  him  on  this  subject,  the  following 
letter  is  addressed  :  — 

"  Conceiving,  as  I  do,  that  the  very  existence  of  this 
country  depends  upon  the  speedy  adoption  of  pacific 
measures,  and  that  if  ruin  does  not  come  from  without, 
it  will  certainly  come  from  within,  I  must  own  I  should 
have  been  most  particularly  happy  to  have  had  the 
sanction  of  your  opinion,  in  favour  of  the  sentiments 
which  I  have  ventured  to  lay  before  tlie  public.  It 
would,  however,  be  unreasonable  and  absurd  in  me  to 
expect  that  any  assent  should  be  given  to  those  senti- 
ments, further  than  the  arguments  adduced  in  their 
favour  irresistibly  demand  ;  and  if,  after  the  deliberate 
and  impartial  consideration  which  I  am  sure  you  are 
disposed  to  give  them,  they  have  not  produced  the 
same  conviction  on  your  mind  as  they  have  on  my  own, 
I  can  only  lament  that  the  cause  on  wliicli  so  much 
depends  has  not  met  with  a  better  advocate. 


LIFE     OF  WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  331 

"  To  attempt  to  supply  in  a  few  words  what  I  have 
not  been  able  to  accomplish  in  many  pages  would,  I 
fear,  be  to  no  purpose ;  and  if  I  have  not  already  de- 
monstrated, that  a  state  of  warfare  is  more  likely  to 
induce  our  powerful  enemy  to  attempt  the  creation  of 
a  navy,  and  to  afford  him  the  opportunities  of  forming 
experienced  seamen,  than  a  state  of  peace,  I  have  failed 
in  one  of  my  principal  objects.  Even  now  the  result 
seems  to  me  to  be  approaching  with  a  celerity  which 
ought  to  attract  the  notice  of  this  country  more  than  it 
has  hitherto  done  ;  and  what  is  more  extraordinary, 
the  commercial  intercourse  between  France  and  this 
country,  which  has  of  late  been  extensive,  has  been 
carried  on  chiefly  by  seamen  belonging  either  to  France 
or  her  subject  states ;  and  thus,  with  our  usual  wisdom, 
whilst  we  are  provoking  or  rather  compelling  Bonaparte 
to  form  a  navy,  we  are  assisting  him  in  providing  skilful 
navigators  to  man  it,  and  admitting  them  daily  into  our 
harbours  and  our  ports. 

"  You  will,  I  hope,  do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that 
I  am  not  one  of  those,  who  upon  every  difference  of  opin- 
ion are  ready  to  accuse  the  motives  of  those  who  may 
differ  from  them,  or  allow  such  difference  to  interfere 
with  sentiments  of  the  sincerest  attachment  and  the 
highest  respect.  If  I  were,  the  number  of  those  whom 
I  am  happy  to  call  my  friends  would  be  reduced  to 
very  few  indeed.  But  even  if  I  were  actuated  by  any 
such  unjustifiable  and  arrogant  principle,  it  certainly 
could  not  operate  with  respect  to  yourself,  with  whom 
I  have  the  pleasure  of  knowing  that  I  agree  in  all  the 
great  points  which  are  essential  to  the  honour  and  hap- 
piness of  mankind  :  —  in  the  love  of  liberty  ;  the 
desire  to  communicate  it  universally  ;  the  hatred  of 
oppression   and   corruption  ;   the    desire  of   serving  our 


332  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

country  In  tlie  best  way  we  are  able ;  and,  let  me  add 
what  you  so  kindly  refer  to,  a  similarity  of  studies  and 
pursuits.  These,  my  dear  Sir,  are  surely  sufficient  to 
cherish  sentiments  of  kindness  and  of  good  will,  and 
allow  me  to  say,  of  friendship  and  attachment  between 
us,  without  unreasonably  exjiecting  a  similarity  of  opin- 
ion in  every  particular  question,  the  decision  on  which 
must,  as  you  observe,  depend  on  the  different  educa- 
tion, connection,  and  habits,  of  those  who  judge  upon 
it.  If,  however,  in  such  cases  either  party  had  to 
apologise  for  the  opinion  he  entertained,  I  fear  it  would 
fall  to  my  lot ;  especially  if  it  were  put  to  the  vote  of 
the  country  at  large." 

Whilst  engaged  in  these  political  discussions,  an  oppor- 
tunity was  afforded  Mr.  Roscoe  of  enforcing  his  opinions 
amongst  his  own  townsmen.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
year  1808,  Mr.  Rathbone  and  two  other  gentlemen 
had  been  deputed,  by  some  of  the  merchants  of  Liver- 
pool, to  give  their  assistance  to  the  opposition  at  that 
time  making  to  the  Orders  in  Council  respecting  neu- 
trals ;  an  Interference  regarded  with  much  jealousy  by 
another  portion  of  the  mercantile  community  In  that 
town.  At  the  sus-o-estlon  of  the  latter,  who  were  desir- 
ous  of  supporting  the  government  In  the  prosecution  of 
the  war,  a  requisition  was  presented  to  the  mayor, 
requesting  him  to  call  a  general  meeting  of  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  town  to  address  his  Majesty,  and  assure 
him  of  their  confidence  In  his  present  councils  and  gov- 
ernment. The  object  of  the  meeting  obviously  was, 
under  the  pretext  of  expressing  confidence  In  the  admin- 
istration, to  throw  impediments  In  the  way  of  the  parlia- 
mentary o])position  then  offering  to  the  Orders  In 
Council.  An  address  to  the  Khifr  havino;  been  moved 
by  the  originators  of  the  meeting,  Mr.  Roscoe  proposed 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  333 

an  amendment,  in  which  he  expressed  a  sentiment  which 
he  strongly  felt,  that  no  difference  of  opinion,  as  to  the 
grounds  or  nature  of  the  war,  ought  to  prevent  or  invali-' 
date  that  perfect  union  and  concurrence  of  all  parties 
which  was  necessary  to  carry  on  the  contest  with  vigour 
and  success.  In  other  respects  the  amended  address 
was  of  a  pacific  tendency.  "  To  these  assurances  we 
are  led,  as  well  by  the  duty  and  loyalty  which  we  owe 
to  your  Majesty,  as  by  a  firm  conviction,  founded  on 
your  Majesty's  constant  and  paternal  regard  to  the  welfare 
of  your  subjects,  that  a  war  requiring  such  unexampled 
sacrifices  will  not  be  protracted  beyond  the  period  that 
may  be  necessary  for  securing  the  honour  and  dignity  of 
your  crown  and  the  rights  and  interests  of  your  people." 
The  address  then  submitted  the  propriety  of  terminating 
the  war  entirely  to  the  wisdom  of  the  King,  as  the  sole 
constitutional  judge,  assuring  his  Majesty,  that  until  that 
period  arrived,  the  petitioners  would  spare  no  sacrifices 
in  its  prosecution.  The  address  and  the  amended  ad- 
dress having  been  put,  the  latter  was  most  decisively 
carried  by  a  show  of  hands ;  but  the  mayor,  who  pre- 
sided, declaring  that  he  could  not  ascertain  the  respective 
numbers,  an  adjournment  was  proposed  from  the  Town 
Hall,  in  which  the  meeting  was  held,  to  the  more  capa- 
cious area  of  the  Exchange  Buildings.  Before  this  could 
be  effected  however,  after  a  short  consultation  with 
some  of  his  friends  around  him,  the  mayor  suddenly 
declared  that  the  oris^inal  address  was  carried.  A  scene 
of  great  tumult  and  confusion  ensued  ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  decision  of  the  chairman,  the  greater  part  of  the 
meeting  adjourned  to  the  area  of  the  Exchange,  where 
the  amended  address  was  read  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  and  voted 
by  a  majority  of  at  least  twenty  to  one. 


334  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

In  thus  dev^oting  his  mind  to  pohtical  discussions,  Mr. 
Roscoe  flattered  himself  that  his  labours  were  also  sub- 
servient to  the  cause  of  letters.  In  forwardini!:  the  two 
pamphlets  which  he  had  lately  published  to  INIr.  Mathias, 
whose  sentiments  on  public  affairs  did  not  coincide  with 
his  own,  he  expresses  his  hope  that  the  interests  of  liter- 
ature, to  which  they  were  both  equally  attached,  might 
in  the  end  be  promoted  by  these  grav"er  studies. 

^'  That  I  should  have  troubled  you  with  the  result  of 
my  political  lucubrations  may  almost  seem  to  require  an 
apology  ;  but  as  I  should  be  sorry  to  write  any  thing 
which  I  could  not  offer  to  your  perusal,  so  I  relied  on 
your  favourable  construction,  in  case  of  any  difference 
of  opinion  between  us.  Nor  have  my  late  employments 
been  so  remote  from  my  former  objects  and  studies  as 
may  at  first  sight  appear.  It  is,  I  fear,  but  too  true,  that 
this  dreadful  war,  and  the  outrages  and  calamities  to 
which  it  gives  rise,  have  a  strong  tendency  not  only  to 
increase  and  perpetuate  national  prejudices  and  animosi- 
ties, but  to  extinguish  all  relish  for  literary  pursuits.  In 
attempting,  therefore,  to  infuse  amongst  my  countrymen 
a  spirit  of  moderation  and  forbearance,  that  may  even- 
tually lead  to  pacific  sentiments,  I  feel  a  conviction,  that 
I  am  labouring  at  the  only  foundation  on  which  the  su- 
perstructure of  national  impovement  can  be  built ;  and 
when  to  this  I  add,  that  not  only  the  impovement,  but 
the  honour,  the  interest,  and  the  safety  of  the  country, 
appear  to  me  to  rest  upon  the  same  basis,  you  will,  I 
am  sure,  agree  with  me,  that  under  such  impressions  I 
could  not  have  remained  silent,  or  have  asserted  my 
opinions  with  less  earnestness  than  I  have  done." 


CHAPTER   XI. 

1809,  1810. 


'5 


Mr.  Roscoe  resumes  his  literary  studies  —  letter  to  the  Rev.  W.  P. 
Greswell  —  meditates  a  Life  of  Dr.  Carrie  —  assists  Mr.  Cromek 
in  preparing  his  Relics  of  Burns  —  writes  the  preface  to  the  Gal- 
lery of  British  Portraits  —  his  enquiries  into  the  History  of  Art 
during  the  middle  ages  —  projects  a  History  of  the  Progress  and 
Vicissitudes  of  Literature  and  Art.  —  Death  and  character  of  Mr. 
Rathbone.  —  Mr.  Roscoe  an  active  member  of  the  African  Institu- 
tion—  communications  to  that  Society  —  controversy  with  Mr. 
George  Harrison  —  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  —  Essay  on 
the  Right  of  Great  Britain  to  compel  Foreign  Nations  to  abolish 
the  Slave  Trade.  —  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester.  —  Liberation 
of  nine  negroes  at  Liverpool  —  thanks  of  the  African  Institution. 
—  Publication  of  "Occasional  Tracts  on  the  War."  —  Letter  to 
Mr.  Whitbread. — Letter  to  Mr.  Wilberforce. — Letter  from  Sir 
Philip  Francis.  —  Publication  of  "Observations  on  the  Speech  of 
Earl  Grey."  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Whitbread.  —  Letter  to  Lord  Ers- 
kine  —  Letter  to  Dr.  Aikin.  —  Letter  from  Sir  S.  Romilly.  —  Mr. 
Roscoe's  general  opinions  on  peace.  —  Early  writings  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

From  the  tumult  and  anxiety  of  political  controversy 
Mr.  Roscoe  was  happy  to  turn  away,  and  to  resume 
those  more  congenial  studies,  from  which  his  mind  had 
been  now  for  some  time  diverted.  The  prospect  of  a 
continued  war,  and  a  conviction  of  the  futility  of  all  at- 
tempts to  give  effect  to  more  pacific  sentiments,  induced 
him  to  abandon  for  the  present  his  fruitless  opposition. 
''  Whilst  you,"  he  says  in  a  letter  addressed  to  his  friend 
Mr.  Greswell,  "  still  continue  to  live,  and  converse  with 
Horace  and  Virgil,  with  Pico  and  Politiano,  I  have 
launched  out  into  the  stormy  ocean  of  politics,  and  been 


336  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

assailed  with  all  the  artillery  that  the  advocates  for  war 
and  desolation  can  hring  to  bear  upon  me.  Their  at- 
tacks, however,  neither  alter  my  opinions  nor  disturb  my 
peace  ;  and  my  only  cause  of  regret  is,  that  I  have  not 
been  able  to  impress  my  own  convictions  more  effectu- 
ally on  the  minds  of  my  countrymen,  so  as  to  have 
prevented,  if  possible,  the  calamities  which  have  since 
taken  place,  and  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  see  the  ter- 
mination. The  rude  reception  which  my  advice  has 
met  with  releases  me,  however,  unless  I  have  a  wish  to 
become  a  martyr,  from  further  service  ;  and  I  begin  the 
year  by  devoting  my  leisure  to  pursuits  more  agreeable 
to  myself  and  less  invidious  to  others,  — •  to  the  exami- 
nation of  such  unpublished  papers  as  I  have  by  me  on 
various  subjects,  and  to  the  inspection  and  arrangement 
of  my  drawings  and  prints." 

In  the  course  of  this  year  he  meditated  with  much 
earnestness  the  commencement  of  a  work,  which  his 
friends  had  long  expected  at  his  hands,  and  which  noth- 
ing but  the  urgency  of  public  affairs  had  prevented  him 
from  attempting,  —  a  Life  of  Dr.  Currie.  But  the  leisure 
which  he  had  promised  himself  he  was  deprived  of  by 
circumstances  which  debarred  him  from  the  performance 
of  this  grateful  duty. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  the  literary  representative  of  Dr. 
Currie,  he  watched  with  solicitude  over  the  fame  of 
Burns.  Mr.  Cromek,  an  engraver,  and  a  devoted  ad- 
mirer of  the  poet,  having,  with  mucli  industry,  collected 
a  number  of  Burns's  letters,  and  some  of  his  unpublished 
poetical  pieces,  resolved  to  publish  tliem  as  a  supple- 
mentary volume  to  the  edition  of  tlie  works  wliich  had 
appeared  under  the  superintendence  of  Dr.  Currie.  Be- 
fore taking  tliis  step,  however,  he  requested  the  advice 
of  Mr.  lloscoe  ;  who,  after  perusing  the   whole  of  his 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  337 

materials,  pointed  out  the  pieces  which,  in  his  judgment, 
were  fitted  for  pubhcation.  The  following  letter  (April 
9,  1808)  to  Messrs.  Cadell  and  Davies,  the  publishers 
of  the  intended  volume,  will  show  how  anxious  he  was 
that  Mr.  Cromek  (in  conformity  with  the  maxim  that  an 
editor  is  bound  to  suppress  whatever  the  author  himself 
would  have  suppressed)  should  give  to  the  world  nothing 
derogatory  to  the  high  character  which  the  genius  of 
Burns  had  obtained. 

"  A  short  time  after  Mr.  Cromek  had  begun  to  print 
his  volume  of  Burns,  the  proofs  of  the  first  sheets  were 
sent  to  me,  when  I  was  equally  surprised  and  sorry  to 
see  that  the  work  opened  with  some  poems,  of  the  ad- 
mission of  which  I  very  much  doubt ;  but  which,  in  that 
situation,  would  have  given  a  very  unfavourable  idea  of 
the  work.  I  immediately  wrote  to  Mr.  Cromek,  entreat- 
ing him  to  stop  the  press  till  we  had  settled  this  point,  as 
well  as  some  others,  which  I  had  to  remark  to  him. 
In  consequence  of  this,  he  got  into  the  mail,  and  came 
to  Allerton,  where  we  have  gone  over  the  whole  work; 
and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  seven 
sheets  now  printed  must  be  cancelled,  and  the  work 
begun  again,  although  it  will  undoubtedly  be  attended 
with  a  very  considerable  expense.  This  mistake  has 
arisen  from  a  misapprehension  ;  it  having  been  settled  by 
Mr.  Cromek  and  me,  when  he  was  last  here,  that  the 
letters  should  be  printed  in  chronological  order,  and 
which  I  supposed  would  be  done ;  but  Mr.  Cromek 
having  these  poems  of  earlier  date,  thought  it  would  be 
proper  to  begin  the  book  with  them,  and  unluckily  sent 
them  to  press  before  I  knew  of  it. 

"  I  am  particularly  anxious  on  this  subject,  as  I  con- 
sider it  a  matter  of  great  importance  not  only  to  the 
character  of  the  poet,  but  to  the  credit  and  interest  of 

VOL.  I.  29 


338  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

those  concerned  in  the  publication.  Should  any  thing 
be  admitted  which  may  give  just  ground  for  censure,  it 
will  inmiediately  be  laid  hold  of,  and  the  book  will  be 
condemned  as  containing  only  worthless  and  indecent 
fragments,  which  both  the  poet  and  Dr.  Currie  had 
rejected  ;  and  not  only  would  this  affect  the  sale  of  the 
work,  but  it  would  also  injure  the  character  of  Burns  ; 
and,  perhaps,  depreciate,  in  a  considerable  degree,  his 
other  writings,  for  the  property  of  which  you  have  so 
hberally  paid.  In  avoiding  any  imputation  of  this  kind, 
the  credit  and  interests  of  the  author,  the  editor,  and 
the  publishers,  all  unite  ;  and  I  am  truly  happy  to  say 
that,  in  my  judgment,  there  is  no  danger  of  it  whatever, 
if  prudent  precautions  be  taken,  which  Mr.  Cromek  is 
not  only  willing  but  anxious  to  do.  The  materials  are, 
in  fact,  excellent,  and  the  more  I  examine  them  the 
more  I  am  convinced  that  they  will  make  a  most  inter- 
esting volume.  Every  thing  is  now  arranged  for  its 
being  immediately  put  to  press,  and  the  only  circum- 
stances to  be  regretted  are  the  loss  of  time  and  the 
expense  already  incurred."  —  ''I  have  only  to  add  that 
I  have  undertaken  to  arrange  the  materials  for  the  pre- 
face, and  shall  have  great  pleasure  in  attending  to  the 
progress  of  the  printing,  as  far  as  my  distance  from  town 
will  allow,  or  rendering  any  other  service  which  you 
or  Mr.  Cromek  may  wish." 

About  this  period  Mr.  Roscoe  was  induced,  at  the 
earnest  solicitations  of  his  publishers,  Messrs.  Cadell  and 
Davies,  to  furnish  them  with  a  preface  for  their  mag- 
nificent volume,  "  The  Gallery  of  British  Portraits,"  a 
work  in  the  course  of  which  a  portrait  of  himself,  from 
a  miniature  by  Mr.  Moses  Houghton,  was  published, 
accompanied   by  a  short  memoir. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  339 

While  engaged  in  the  pohtical  discussions  of  which 
some  account  has  been  given  in  the  last  chapter,  Mr. 
Roscoe  sought  amusement  and  relief  in  the  prosecution 
of  some  literary  enquiries  to  which  he  had  at  various 
periods  of  his  life  dev^oted  a  considerable  share  of  atten- 
tion. The  history  of  art,  and  the  cause  of  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  taste  had  furnished  him  with  subjects  for  his 
lectures  before  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  the 
Arts  of  Design,  &ic.,  in  the  year  1784,  and  after  that 
period  the  same  subjects  appear  to  have  been  frequently 
the  objects  of  his  study.  In  the  composition  of  the 
"  Life  of  Leo  X."  he  was  compelled  to  enter  largely 
into  the  history  of  the  revival  of  art ;  and  it  was  probably 
this  circumstance  which  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  a 
work  upon  which  he  bestowed  much  labour,  but  which 
he  never  completed. 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  William  Smith,  written  soon  after 
the  publication  of  the  "  Tracts  on  the  War,"  he  says, — 

"  For  a  few  days  past  I  have  sought  for  shelter  from 
discussions  about  war,  and  parliamentary  reform,  and  the 
bullion  committee,  which  have  for  some  weeks  past 
occupied  my  attention,  in  the  darkness  of  the  middle 
ages ;  where  I  am  endeavouring  to  trace  out,  amidst 
churches,  and  cemeteries,  and  popes,  and  Goths,  and 
Vandals,  the  slender  thread  by  which  the  arts  of  design 
were  continued  through  the  storms  and  desolation  of  this 
gloomy  period.  Of  this  subject  I  have  often  thought, 
and  for  some  years  past  have  collected  memorials,  as 
well  in  prints  and  drawings  as  in  books,  respecting  it ; 
and,  although  I  am  aware  that  there  is  not  much  to  be 
discovered  by  the  most  diligent  researches,  yet  I  have 
found  enough  to  convince  me  that  the  remarks  of  Vasari, 
Baldinucci,  and  other  historians  of  the  arts,  as  to  their 
total  annihilation  before  the  time  of  Cimabue,  are  un- 


340  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

founded,  and  that  the  subject  deserves  rather  more  atten- 
tion tlian  has  hitherto  been  paid  to  it  ;  particuhuly  as  it 
seems  to  nic,  that  if  the  present  system  of  warfare  and 
desolation  continues,  we  shall  shortly  have  to  plunge 
again  into  a  similar  ^ulf." 

In  a  letter  to  Sir  James  Smith,  written  about  the  same 
period,  Mr.  Roscoe  says,  "  I  am  also  looking  into  the 
state  of  the  arts  during;  the  middle  aoes  for  a  memoir,  of 
which  I  have  sood  materials."  The  collectin*];  of  these 
materials  had  been  the  study  of  many  years  ;  and  he  ap- 
pears at  this  time  to  have  reduced  them  into  order,  and 
to  have  prepared  the  greater  part  of  them  for  publication 
under  the  title  of  an  "  Historical  Sketch  of  the  State  of 
the  Arts  during  the  Middle  Ages."  Subsequently  this 
design  was  enlarged  ;  and  he  contemplated  a  much  more 
extended  work,  to  which  he  intended  to  give  the  title 
of  "  An  Historical  Inquiry  into  the  Rise,  Progress,  and 
Vicissitudes  of  Taste,  as  exemplified  in  Works  of  Lite- 
rature and  of  Art."  Of  the  nature  of  this  work,  which 
was  to  be  comprised  in  two  volumes,  an  accurate  idea 
may  be  formed  from  the  following  heads  of  the  chapters 
which  it  was  intended  to  contain  :  — 

"Vol.  I.  chap.  1.  Introductory  Chapter  on  the  Causes 

of  the  Rise,  Progress,  and  Vicissitudes  of  Taste. 
''  2.    Origin  of  Taste,   as   exemplified  in  the  History 

of  the  earliest  People. 
"  3.    On  the  State  of  Literature   and  Arts  anterior  to 

their  Rise  in  the  Grecian  States. 
"  4.  State  of  Letters  and  Arts  among  the  Greeks. 
"  5.  Introduction  of  Works  of  Taste  into  Rome,  and 

Progress  of  Litei'ature  and   Art  to  the  Death  of 

Augustus. 

*'  Vol.  II.  chap.  6.  Progress  and  Vicissitudes  of  Litera- 
ture and  Art  to  the  Year  400. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  341 

"  7.  Progress  and  Vicissitudes  of  Literature  and  Art 

to  the  Year  1200. 
"  8.    Literature  and  Arts  of  the  Arabs. 
"  9.    Progress  and  Vicissitudes  of  Literature  and  Art 

to  the  Year  1400. 
.    "  10.    Progress   of  Literature  and  Art  to  the   Year 

1500." 

In  another  scheme  of  the  work  three  additional  chap- 
ters are  inserted,  on  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  Literature 
and  Art  in  Italy,  France,  and   England. 

Of  this  extensive  and  interestinor  undertaking  a  small 
portion  only  was  executed.  The  third  and  fourth  chap- 
ters seem  to  be  nearly  complete,  and  ample  materials 
remain  for  the  composition  of  some  other  parts  of  the 
work.  Those  materials  consist  of  various  dissertations 
upon  different  branches  of  art ;  — > "  On  the  Cultivation 
of  the  Polite  Arts  and  particularly  those  of  Painting  and 
Design,"  written  at  an  early  period  ;  ^'  On  Painters' 
Drawings  ;  "  "  On  the  Practical  Part  of  Painting  ;  "  "  On 
the  German  Engravers  ;  "  "^  On  the  Origin  of  Engraving 
in  Wood  and  on  Copper  ; "  together  with  several  de- 
tached memoirs  of  the  Italian  painters. 

In  the  spring  of  the  present  year  (1809)  Mr.  Roscoe 
had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  friend  Mr.  Rathbone,  with 
whom  he  had  lived  for  many  years  upon  terms  of  the 
most  confidential  intimacy  and  the  most  attached  friend- 
ship. The  affection  which  had  so  long  subsisted  between 
them  arose  from  the  congruity  of  their  opinions  on  all 
the  most  important  subjects  of  human  judgment,  and  from 
the  equal  devotion  of  their  minds  to  objects  of  useful- 
ness and  benevolence.  The  character  of  Mr.  Rathbone 
was  of  the  highest  cast ;  and  it  was  ever  the  subject  of 
deep  regret  with  those  who  knew  and  appreciated  him, 
29* 


342  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

that  a  genius,  which  might  have  shone  witli  tlie  brightest 
lustre   in   the   most   extended   sphere,   was   restricted  to 
comparative  obscurity.     The  talents  for  pubhc  hfe  man- 
ifested   by    liim   on    various    occasions,    wlien    he    came 
forwards   in   support    of   Hberal  principles,   were   of  the 
first  order.     A  friend  to  peace,  to  toleration,  and  to  im- 
provement,  had   he   been   placed    in   a  situation   where 
scope  could  have  been  given  to  his  lofty  and  benevolent 
views,  his  name  must  have  been  for  ever  associated  with 
his  country's  happiness  and  honour ;  but  confined  to  the 
narrow  limits  of  a  private  station,  a  man  framed  of  the 
clay  from  which  in  former  days  heroes  and  martyrs  were 
moulded,  expended  the  strength  which  might  have  ruled 
a  nation,  in  contests,  the  recollection  of  which  has  already 
passed  away.     It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed,  that 
the  labours  of  such  a  man  were  lost.     The  influence  of  a 
mind  like  that  of  Mr.  Rathbone,  upon  the  community  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  was  necessarily  great  ;  and  it 
is  to  the  efforts  of  him,  and  of  those  who,  like  him,  in 
seasons   of  difficulty   and   danger,  openly   avowed   their 
adherence  to  the  interests  of  truth  and  freedom,  that  we 
may  attribute  the  progress  since   made   in   the  cause  of 
political  and  social  improvement.     A  short  memoir  of  his 
friend   was  written  by  Mr.  Roscoe,  and   i)rinted  in  the 
Athenaeum,  a  periodical  work,  published  under  the  au- 
spices of  Dr.  Aikin.*     The  following  is  the  sketch  there 


*  "You  will  have  heard  with  sorrow  of  the  loss  of  our  invaluable 
friend  Rathbone,  who  bore  his  sufferings  with  the  patience  of  a 
martyr,  and  died  witli  the  fortitude  of  a  hero,  llis  character  waa 
not  only  excellent  but  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  excellence,  which,  if 
accurately  described,  must  render  it  interesting.  It  is  my  intention 
to  attempt  a  brief  delineation  of  it,  for  the  '  Athenoeum,'  which  may 
perhaps  occupy  a  page  or  two  ;  and  if  you  will  have  the  goodness  to 
reserve  a  space  for  it  in  your  obituary  for  the  present  month,  1  will 
take  care  it  shall  be  with  you  by  the  end  of  next  week,  or  sooner  if 
necessary." —  Mr.  Ruscoe  to  Dr.  Aihin. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  343 

given  of  Mr.  Rathbone's  private  character  :  — "  True 
excellence  is  always  the  more  highly  esteemed  as  it  is 
the  more  nearly  approached  and  the  more  intimately 
known  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  respect  paid  to  his 
acknowledged  merits  in  public  life,  it  was  in  the  social 
circle,  and  in  the  society  of  his  family  and  friends,  that 
his  character  appears  in  the  most  favourable  aspect.  On 
these  occasions,  it  was  impossible  not  to  be  stmck  with 
that  soul  of  benevolence  which  disclosed  itself  in  every 
word  and  look,  and  with  that  simplicity  of  manner  which 
indicated  that  he  had  not  a  thoutrht  to  conceal.  As  his 
views  were  extensive,  and  his  experience  considerable, 
so  the  tenor  of  his  conversation  was  always  instructive  ; 
and  it  may  most  truly  be  said  of  him,  that  a  word  scarcely 
ever  escaped  his  lips  that  was  not  directed  to  some  be- 
nevolent purpose, — 'to  impart  pleasure,  to  communicate 
knowledge,  or  to  do  good.  His  person  and  appearance 
were  strikingly  impressive,  and  conciliated  attachment 
whilst  they  inspired  respect.  His  manner  was  peculiarly 
natural  and  eno;ao;ino;  ;  and  throughout  his  discourse,  the 
aptitude  of  his  illustrations,  and  the  playfulness  of  his 
fancy,  always  confined  within  the  strictest  bounds  of  pro- 
priety and  decorum,  never  failed  to  delight  his  hearers. 

"  For  a  long  time,  the  declining  state  of  Mr.  Rath- 
bone's  health  had  caused  the  most  serious  apprehensions 
to  his  friends  ;  but  a  few  months  since,  his  complaints 
attained  a  more  alarming  form,  and  he  had  to  struggle 
with,  sufferings  beyond  what  generally  fall  to  the  lot  of 
humanity.  If  there  be  a  spectacle  on  earth  more  pecu- 
liarly deserving  of  admiration  than  any  other,  it  is  the 
contemplation  of  a  firm  and  a  virtuous  mind,  rising  supe- 
rior to  corporeal  sufferings,  and  shining  forth  in  all  its 
lustre  amidst  the  ruins  of  its  earthly  frame. 


344  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE. 

"  In  tlie  last  period  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Rathbone,  this 
spectacle  was  most  eminently  displayed.  The  moments 
that  could  be  spared  from  actual  suffering  were  assidu- 
ously devoted  to  the  consolation  of  his  affectionate  family, 
and  the  society  of  his  friends,  with  whom  he  conversed 
on  his  approaching  death,  not  only  with  fortitude,  but 
with  cheerfulness.  The  faculties  of  his  mind  were  un- 
impaired to  the  last  moment ;  when,  without  a  struggle, 
he  resigned  his  spirit  into  the  hands  of  his  Creator. 

"  Tlirice  happy  I  who  the  blameless  road  along 

Of  honest  praise  hath  reach'd  the  vale  of  death ! 
Around  him,  like  ministrant  cherubs,  throng 

His  better  actions  —  to  the  parting  breath 
Singing  their  blessed  requiems  ;  he  the  while, 

Gently  reposing  on  some  friendly  breast, 
Breathes  out  his  benisons  ;  then,  with  a  smile 

Of  soft  complacence,  lays  him  down  to  rest, 

Calm  as  the  slumbering  infant." 

It  had  been  the  custom  of  Mr.  Rathbone  to  inscribe, 
in  a  book  devoted  to  that  purpose,  the  names  of  those  of 
his  family,  whom  he  had  lost  by  death.  In  this  volume, 
Mr.  Roscoe  has,  in  his  own  hand,  thus  recorded  the 
death  of  his  friend  : — • 

"  11th  February,  1809. 

"  William  Rathbone,  died  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, aged  51  years  and  8  months. 

^'  This  domestic  record,  which  contains  the  brief  me- 
morials of  many  of  his  beloved  and  respected  relatives, 
registered  by  his  own  hand,  and  endeared  by  the  warm 
expression  of  his  affection,  now  receives  the  honoured 
name  of 

WILLIAM    RATHBONE, 
Of  Liverpool,  Merchant, 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  345 

a  name  which  will  ever  be  distinguished  by  indepen- 
dence, probity,  and  true  benevolence,  and  will  remain 
as  an  example  to  his  descendants,  of  genuine  piety,  pa- 
tient resignation,  and  of  all  those  virtues  which  give 
energy  to  a  community,  adorn  society,  and  are  the 
delight  of  private  life. 

"Through  Ufe  beloved  !  O  let  this  votive  line 
Unite  in  death  its  author's  name  Avith  thine. 


a 


William  Roscoe." 


In  the  following  sonnet,  also,  he  has  recorded  the 
character  and  virtues  of  his  friend  :  — 

"  SONNET  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  MR.  RATHBONE. 

"  Doom'd  for  a  season  to  that  frail  disguise, 
Whilst  yet  thy  spirit  felt  its  bonds  of  clay, 
How  through  the  gloom  shone  forth  the  imprison'd  ray 

Beam'd  in  thy  smile  and  sparkled  in  thine  eyes ! 

Prompting  thee  on  to  deeds  of  high  emprise, 
To  plant  thy  foot  athwart  Oppression's  way  ; 
To  shield  the  weak,  the  suiferer's  pangs  allay, 

And  soothe  the  widow's  woes,  the  orphan's  cries. 

Thy  mission  now  is  closed.     The  sacred  flame 
From  earth  released,  in  other  worlds  expands. 

Midst  the  blest  regions  of  eternal  love. 

O  glorious  hour  !  Avhen,  midst  her  falling  frame, 
The  imperishable  soul  superior  stands, 

Spurns  her  frail  chain,  and  soars  to  realms  above." 

From  the  period  when,  in  1806,  Mr.  Roscoe  had  as- 
sisted in  founding  the  African  Institution,  he  had  actively 
endeavoured  on  all  occasions  to  forward  the  objects  of  that 
association.  Not  only  did  he  maintain  a  frequent  cor- 
respondence with  the  President  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
and  with  Mr.  Zachary  Macaulay  the  Secretary,  in  which 


346  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

he  offered  many  suggestions  with  regard  to  their  course 
of  proceeding,  and  urged  especially  the  great  necessity  of 
prevailing  upon  foreign  nations  to  abolish  the  Slave 
Trade  ;  but  he  also  zealously  exerted  himself  in  procur- 
ing such  information  in  Liverpool,  as  might  tend  to 
prevent  those  fraudulent  evasions  of  the  Abolition  Act 
which  for  some  years  after  its  passing  were  of  too  frequent 
occurrence. 

Amongst  the  papers  which  he  occasionally  communi- 
cated to  the  Institution  was  one,  in  the  shape  of  a  letter 
to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  (dated  March  20,  1809),  in 
which  he  urged  the  necessity  of  encouraging  a  trade  with 
Africa,  as  one  of  the  surest  means  of  promoting  the  civil- 
isation of  that  country.  Upon  this  letter,  which  appeared 
in  the  Appendix  to  the  third  annual  Report  of  the  So- 
ciety, Mr.  George  Harrison,  a  warm  friend  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  Africans,  made  some  remarks,  which 
were  afterwards  published  in  a  periodical  work  called 
the  Philanthropist*  Amongst  other  observations  this 
gentleman  expressed  his  apprehensions  lest  the  commu- 
nication of  Mr.  Roscoe  "  might  have  the  effect  of  damp- 
ing the  hopes  and  disappointing  the  expectations  of  many 
warm  well-wishers  to  the  cause  of  civilisation."  To  a 
charge  like  this,  publicly  made,  Mr.  Roscoe  conceived 
it  to  be  incumbent  upon  him  to  give  some  answer  ;  and 
accordingly,  in  the  spring  of  1811,  he  printed  a  very 
short  tract,  under  the  title  of  a  "  Reply  to  some  Re- 
marks by  George  Harrison,  on  a  Communication  from 
William  Roscoe  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  President  of 
the  African  Institution,  dated  March  20,  1809." 

In  this  little  tract  he  defends  (what  seems  scarcely  to 
have  required  defence)  the  proposition,  that  in  attempting 

*  No.  II.,  Jan.  I,  1811. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  347 

to  civilise  the  natives  of  Africa  the  greatest  assistance 
would  be  derived  from  a  friendly  and  honourable  traffic 
with  them ;  "  that  whilst  proper  methods  were  adopted 
for  civilising  and  instructing  the  inhabitants  of  Africa, 
the  peaceful  and  friendly  interchange  of  the  conveniences 
and  necessaries  of  life  might  assist  in  rousing  their  facul- 
ties  to  action,  and  engaging  them  by  the  most  powerful 
principle  in  human  nature  to  contribute  to  their  own 
improvement."  —  "  In  the  consideration  of  this  question 
it  would  have  been  incumbent  on  Mr.  Harrison  to  have 
shown,  from  the  history  of  past  events,  that  countries  in 
a  state  of  barbarism  have  been  civilised  by  persons  sent 
as  professed  instructors ;  and  to  have  demonstrated,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  the  production  and  interchange  of 
the  necessaries  of  life  had  no  share,  or  at  least  a  very 
inferior  share,  in  producing  that  civilisation  which  has 
extended  over  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  globe." 

On  the  subject  of  this  controv^ersy  he  addressed  the 
followin<T  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  as  President 
of  the  African  Institution. 

"  Your  Royal  Highness  will,  I  trust,  excuse  the  liberty 
I  have  taken  in  enclosing,  for  your  perusal,  a  brief  reply 
to  some  remarks  made  by  Mr.  George  Harrison,  one  of 
the  Directors  of  the  African  Institution,  in  a  letter  which 
I  had  the  honour  to  address  to  your  Royal  Highness  in 
1809,  and  of  which  the  Institution  published  an  extract 
in  their  report  for  that  year. 

"  I  confess,  that  as  far  as  these  remarks  relate  to  my- 
self, they  appear,  from  his  own  statement,  to  be  so 
unfounded,  that  I  should  willingly  have  left  the  decision 
to  the  candid  judgment  of  his  readers,  but  on  further 
consideration,  it  appeared  to  me,  that  the  sentiments 
avowed  by  Mr.  Harrison  were  not  only  inconsistent  with 
those  enlightened  views  upon  which  the  Institution  has 


348  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

hitherto  acted,  but  likely  to  prove  injurious  to  the  best 
interests  of  tliose  for  whose  benefit  it  was  established. 
In  fact,  a  considerable  degree  of  prejudice  seems  to 
prevail  against  all  those  who  have  engaged  in  a  direct 
and  leiiitimate  trade  with  Africa,  althouirh  tlieir  motives 
and  conduct  are  as  different  from  those  of  their  prede- 
cessors as  light  from  darkness,  and  the  existence  of  such 
an  intercourse  is  indispensably  necessary  to  the  civilisation 
of  those  countries. 

"  An  idea  has,  I  find,  been  entertained,  that  I  had  my- 
self engaged  in  this  trade  ;  but,  in  fact,  I  never  had  in 
my  life  any  share  or  concern  in  any  ship  or  adventure. 
My  second  son  is,  indeed,  a  partner  in  a  mercantile 
house  in  Liverpool,  which  has  sent  out  three  ships  direct 
from  Liverpool  to  the  coast,  two  of  which  returned  last 
year,  and  tlie  third  is  daily  expected ;  but  with  this 
voyage,  I  understand,  their  undertaking  will  close  ;  as 
the  duties  upon  African  produce  are  such  that  it  cannot 
be  imported  with  advantage. 

"  Anxious  as  I  am  that  every  measure  should  be 
adopted  that  may  eradicate  the  traffic  for  slaves,  I  cannot 
perceive  that  the  regulations  now  proposed  to  parliament 
for  that  purpose  will  be  more  effectual  than  those  which 
preceded  them.  Tlie  former  act  has  been  evaded,  not 
because  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  penalties,  but  because 
of  the  difficulty  of  conviction,  in  an  intercourse  which 
can  be  carried  on  between  the  coast  of  Africa  and  foreiffn 
ports,  though  with  the  property  and  for  the  use  of  British 
subjects. 

"  To  increase  these  penalties  will,  therefore,  only  in- 
duce the  slave-dealers  to  re(k)ublc  tlicir  precautions ;  and 
if  tliey  have  not  been  convicted  wlicn  punishal)]e  only 
by  fine,  tliey  will  certainly  not  be  convicted  wlicn  punish- 
able by  transportation  or  death.     I  have  already  too  far 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  349 

intruded  on  your  Royal  HIghness's  indulgence  on  this 
subject,  but  I  cannot  relinquish  my  decided  conviction, 
that  it  is  only  by  one  great  and  virtuous  effort  that  the 
slave  trade  can  be  effectually  abolished,  and  until  it  can 
be  demonstrated  that  power  is  improperly  exercised 
when  employed  in  restraining  inhumanity  and  oppression, 
I  am  compelled  to  retain  my  opinion. 

"  Should  the  enclosed  paper  accord  with  the  senti- 
ments entertained  by  your  Royal  Highness  on  the  subject 
in  discussion,  it  will  give  me  the  greatest  satisfaction." 

The  subject  adverted  to  at  the  conclusion  of  the  fore- 
going letter  had  occupied  much  of  Mr.  Roscoe's  attention. 
After  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  by  Great  Britain, 
other  states  continued  still  to  carry  it  on,  and  under 
the  protection  of  their  flags,  British  subjects,  in  many 
instances,  were  still  engaged  in  the  traffic.  The  conse- 
quence of  this  was,  that  the  natives  of  Africa  were 
deprived  of  the  fidl  benefit  of  the  sacrifice  made  by  this 
country,  and  that  all  hopes  of  permanendy  improving 
their  condition  were  at  an  end,  so  long  as  the  European 
nations  were  permitted  to  carry  on  the  traffic  for  slaves. 
It  therefore  became  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance 
to  ascertain  the  right  of  this  country  to  interfere  with 
other  nations,  and  to  insist  upon  the  abandonment  of  a 
trade  contrary  to  the  first  principles  of  humanity  and 
justice.  This  inquiry,  involving  a  consideration  of  the 
great  principles  of  general  and  international  law,  Mr. 
Roscoe  entered  upon  with  much  industry  and  solicitude, 
and  the  result  was  a  Dissertation  of  considerable  length 
"  on  the  Right  of  Great  Britain  to  prevent  other  Nations 
from  carrying  on  the  Slave  Trade."  The  greatest  care 
and  the  most  diligent  research  appear  to  have  been 
bestowed  on  this  paper,  which  presents  an  irresistible 
argument  in  favour  of  the   right  contended  for,  and  is, 

VOL.  I.  30 


350  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

perhaps,  the  most  closely-reasoned  of  all  Mr.  Roscoe's 
writings.  It  displays,  at  the  same  time,  that  animated 
style,  which  always  distinguished  his  compositions  when 
his  heart  was  deeply  engaged.  After  stating  that  it  was 
probable  that  the  remonstrances  of  this  country  might 
produce  the  desired  result  without  resort  being  had  to 
coercive  measures,  he  thus  proceeds :  — 

''  By  such  representations  as  these,  conveyed  in  that 
firm  and  temperate  language  which  becomes  a  powerful 
nation,  acting  in  a  just  and  generous  cause,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  all  reasons  for  hostility  would  be  avoided, 
and  that  the  object  would  be  accomplished  not  only 
without  injury  and  without  danger,  but  with  the  highest 
honour  to  this  country.  If,  however,  these  expectations 
should  be  disappointed  ;  if  motives  of  pride,  of  obsti- 
nacy, or  of  interest,  a  predilection  for  tyranny  and  op- 
pression, and  an  insatiable  thirst  of  African  blood,  should 
frustrate  the  pacific  efforts  of  this  country  to  relieve  the 
injured  from  the  jaws  of  the  oppressor,  and  to  deliver 
him  that  is  ready  to  perish,  let  her  rise  in  her  terrors, 
and  repress  the  impious  rage  of  the  enemies  of  their 
kind.  Let  her  vengeance  be  directed  on  those  whom 
no  admonition  can  convince,  no  example  influence,  no 
considerations  of  justice  or  of  humanity  restrain,  till  the 
objects  of  her  resentment  furnish  to  posterity  an  awful 
lesson,  that  the  general  rights  and  privileges  of  human 
society  cannot,  with  impunity,  be  trampled  under  foot." 

How  deeply  he  was  interested  in  this  subject  appears 
by  tlie  following  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  to 
whom  he  communicated  the  dissertation. 

"  I  now  perform  a  promise,  which  I  some  time  since 
made  to  your  Royal  Highness,  and  take  the  liberty  of 
submitting  to  you  the  result  of  my  furtlier  thoughts  on 
the  means  that  yet  remain  to  be  adopted  for  terminating 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  351 

the  African  slave  trade.  The  ideas  principally  intended 
to  be  illustrated  are,  the  necessity  of  the  immediate  in- 
terference of  this  country  to  induce  foreign  states  to 
assent  to  its  abolition,  and  the  propriety  and  justice  in 
case  of  refusal,  of  capturing  all  such  vessels,  of  whatever 
country,  as  may  be  found  engaged  in  the  trade.  Your 
Royal  Highness  will,  perhaps,  recoUect  that  this  idea  was 
first  started  in  a  conversation  which  I  had  the  honour  to 
have  with  you  at  High  Legh,  and  it  seemed  to  me  at 
that  time  to  be  a  consequence  of  some  observations  which 
your  Royal  Highness  had  made  on  the  subject.  I  after- 
wards reconsidered  an  assertion,  which,  I  feared,  had 
been  too  hastily  made,  but  wdiich  further  deliberation 
confirmed  ;  and  I  have  now  the  satisfaction  to  know,  that 
on  the  principal  point  of  the  abstract  right  of  this  country 
to  prevent  other  nations  from  carrying  on  the  trade,  your 
Royal  Highness  entirely  coincides. 

"  The  question  of  the  expediency  of  such  an  inter- 
ference, under  present  circumstances,  as  it  involves  the 
deepest  considerations  of  national  interest,  is  of  more 
difficult  solution,  and  on  this  account  I  postponed,  in  my 
last  communication  to  your  Royal  Higliness,  entering  upon 
its  consideration,  under  an  apprehension  that  a  hasty  and 
imperfect  defence  of  it  might  rather  injure  than  promote 
a  cause  on  which  so  much  depends.  Since  that  time, 
I  have  deliberately  reconsidered  my  former  statement, 
and  compared  it  with  the  opinions  of  the  principal  writers 
on  general  law,  and  the  pages  I  now  transmit  to  your 
Royal  Highness  are  the  result  of  this  consideration. 
I  cannot  but  be  sensible,  that  the  proposing  any  measures 
which  may  possibly  tend  to  increase  the  causes  of  hos- 
tility between  nations,  unless  such  measures  be  indispen- 
sably necessary,  is  highly  culpable,  and  I  should  consider 
myself  as  acting  in  contradiction  to  every  principle  and 


352  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

feeling  of  my  life,  if  I  were  to  place  myself  in  such  a 
predicament.  But,  greatly  as  I  deprecate  it,  and 
thoroughly  convinced  as  I  am  that  war  is  often  resorted 
to  upon  insufficient  and  even  criminal  grounds,  I  cannot 
admit  that  the  dearest  and  most  indisputahle  privileges 
of  tlie  human  race  are  to  be  abandoned  to  the  caprice, 
the  tyranny,  or  the  avarice  of  those,  who,  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  their  power,  may  think  proper  to  trample  upon 
them.  ^Var,  when  engaged  in  for  the  defence  of  liberty, 
the  vindication  of  justice,  or  the  succour  of  the  oppressed, 
is  not  only  allowable,  but  when  it  can  be  waged  with  a 
reasonable  prospect  of  success,  is  indispensable ;  and  if 
it  were  not  for  this  eternal  and  unsliaken  resistance  of 
right  to  wrong,  this  rising  up  of  justice,  to  crush  and  put 
down  oppression,  the  interests  of  the  human  race  would 
be  surrendered,  and  their  destinies  decided  upon  by  the 
most  cruel,  the  most  odious,  and  the  most  profligate  of 
their  kind." 

In  the  year  1809  Mr.  Roscoe  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
receive  the  thanks  of  the  African  Institution,  for  his  ser- 
vices in  assisting  to  rescue  some  Negroes  from  an  attempt 
to  re-capture  them  in  this  country.  A  Brazilian  vessel, 
called  the  Monte  de  Carina,  under  the  command  of  a 
person  whose  name  was  Joze  Antonio  Cardozo,  having 
arrived  at  the  port  of  Liverpool,  nine  of  the  crew,  who 
were  Negroes,  and  had  been  slaves  in  Brazil,  were  im- 
mediately arrested  under  process  from  the  Borough  Court 
of  Liverpool,  a;  the  suit  of  the  captain,  Cardozo,  and 
lodged  in  the  borough  gaol.  The  affidavit  of  debt, 
upon  which  this  process  was  founded,  stated  that  these 
men  were  indebted  to  the  plaintiff  for  advances  of  money. 
They  were  carried,  in  liandcuffs,  to  the  prison,  where 
they  remained  for  about  a  month  ;  when  the  ship,  being 
ready  fur  sea,  the  captain,  attended  by  his  attorney  and 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  353 

a  gang  of  men,  went  to  the  gaol  and  produced  discharges 
for  all  the  prisoners  from  his  suit.  The  unfortunate 
captives,  aware  that  on  their  release  from  confinement 
they  should  be  hurried  on  board  ship  and  carried  out 
again  as  slaves,  refused  to  quit  the  prison ;  their  fellow- 
prisoners  declared  that  they  would  protect  them ;  and 
the  gaoler,  with  a  humanity  which  did  him  credit,  af- 
forded them  the  protection  of  the  prison  walls.  These 
circumstances  reaching  the  ears  of  Mr.  Roscoe,  an  im- 
mediate inquiry  was  instituted  into  them ;  bail  was,  by 
his  direction,  put  in,  in  all  the  actions ;  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  magistrates  of  the  town,  who  acted  with 
alacrity  in  the  affair,  such  proceedings  were  taken  as 
effectually  secured  the  freedom  of  the  Negroes.  Mr. 
Roscoe's  exertions  on  this  occasion  procured  him  the 
thanks  of  the  African  Institution,  conveyed  to  him  in  the 
following  resolutions  :  — ■ 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  Directors  of  the  African  Institu- 
tion, on  the  5th  December,  1809, — 

"  A  letter  from  Mr.  Roscoe  to  the  Secretary,  dated 
the  22d  November,  1809,  having  been  read, 

"  It  was  unanimously  resolved, 

"  That  the  thanks  of  this  Committee,  in  the  name  of 
the  African  Institution,  be  given  to  Mr.  Roscoe  for  his 
humane  and  successful  interposition  on  behalf  of  nine 
black  men,  lately  confined  in  the  borough  gaol  of  Liver- 
pool by  process  for  debt  sued  out  by  a  Portuguese  ship- 
master, with  the  purpose  of  securing  them  till  he  should 
be  ready  to  sail,  and  then  forcibly  carrying  them  into 
slavery.  The  Committee  congratulate  Mr.  Roscoe  on 
his  having  thus  been  the  instrument  of  delivering  nine 
human  beings  from  the  dreadful  state  of  Negro  slavery, 
30* 


354  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

and  vindicating  at  the  same  time  the  justice  of  the 
British  laws,  wliich  were  fraudulently  abused  for  pur- 
poses of  oppression.  T1k3  Committee  also  request  the 
favour  of  Mr.  Roscoe  to  communicate  the  thanks  of 
the  Institution  to  Messrs.  Stanistreet  and  Avison,  whose 
humane  and  liberal  conduct  and  assistance  in  this 
business  he  acknowledges ;  and  also  to  the  keeper 
of  the  prison,  by  whose  humanity  the  fraudulent  and 
iniquitous  purpose  of  the  Portuguese  master  and  his  ac- 
complices was  frustrated,  when  it  might  otherwise  have 
been  carried  into  effect.  The  Secretary,  in  communi- 
cating this  resolution,  is  requested  further  to  thank  Mr. 
Roscoe  for  his  remarks  on  the  general  means  of  effectino: 
more  fully  the  abolition  of  the  Slave  Trade." 

Though  Mr.  Roscoe  seems  to  have  made  a  resolution, 
after  the  publication  of  his  pamphlets  on  the  war,  in 
1808,  to  renounce,  as  vain,  the  attempt  to  promote  the 
cause  of  peace,  yet  the  interest  with  which  he  viewed 
the  subject  would  not  permit  him  to  remain  a  passive 
spectator  of  the  events  around  him.  He  determined  to 
make  one  effort  more  to  enforce  the  opinions  which  he 
deemed  so  essential  to  the  safety  of  the  country  ;  and 
with  this  view  he  collected  and  published,  in  one  volume, 
the  various  tracts  which,  since  the  commencement  of  the 
French  war,  he  had  given  to  the  world  in  favour  of 
peace.  This  collection  contained  three  pamplilets,  al- 
ready noticed,  which  he  had  published  anonymously  :  — 
"  Thoughts  on  the  Causes  of  the  present  Failures : " 
"  Strictures  on  Mr.  Burke's  two  Letters,  addressed  to  a 
Member  of  the  present  Parliament;"  and  "Observa- 
tions on  the  relative  Situation  of  Great  Britain  and 
France."  To  these  were  added  the  two  pamphlets 
published  in  1808,  of  which  some  account  has  been 
given:  — "  Considerations  on  the  Causes,  Objects,  and 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  35 


oo 


Consequences  of  the  present  War,  and  on  the  expedi- 
ency or  Danger  of  Peace  with  France  ; "  and  "  Re- 
marks on  the  Proposals  made  to  Great  Britain  for  open- 
ms^  neii;otiations  for  Peace  in  1807."  The  volume 
concludes  witii  "  Brief  Observations  on  the  Address  to 
his  Majesty,  proposed  by  Earl  Grey  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  June  13,  1810."*  "Of  the  following  tracts," 
he  says  in  the  advertisement  to  the  volume,  "  tlie 
three  first  were  published  without  the  name  of  the 
author,  at  the  times  of  their  respective  dates.  In  thus 
uniting  them  with  his  later  pieces,  his  chief  object  is  to 
recal  the  public  attention  to  the  awful  subject  wliich 
they  profess  to  discuss,  and,  if  possible,  to  impress  upon 
others  those  convictions  which  the  occurrences  of  the 
last  eighteen  years  have  produced  and  confirmed  in  his 
own  mind.  How  far  his  statements  and  reasonings 
have  been  justified  by  subsequent  events,  the  present 
state  of  Europe  in  general,  and  of  this  country  in  par- 
ticular, may  sufiicienlly  show.  But  whatever  reception 
this  volume  may  meet  with,  the  author  has  thought  prop- 
er to  avow  all  that  he  has  at  any  time  written  on  this 
subject,  and  to  conmiit  it,  as  far  as  in  his  jiower,  to 
future  times,  as  an  appeal  against  tlie  promoters  of  a 
war,  as  unjust  in  its  principle  as  it  has  been  sanguinary 
in  its  progress  and  calamitous  in  its  result." 

That  his  expectations  of  making  any  impression  upon 
the  country  by  his  arguments  were  very  humble,  ap- 
pears from  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  IMr. 
Whitbread,  written  shortly  before  the  publication  of 
his  ''  Tracts." 

"  Having,  at  different  periods  since  1793,  published 
my  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  the  war  (some  of  the 

*  Post,  p.  3G0. 


356  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

earlier  tracts  anonymously),  1  have  lately  collected 
togetiier  and  reprinted  these  pieces  in  an  octavo  vol- 
ume, of  wliieli  I  hope  soon  to  have  tlie  pleasure  of 
sendin<^  you  a  eo[)y.  Should  you  ever  linil  leisure  to 
look  into  these  melancholy  and  fruitless  labours,  I  trust 
at  least  yon  will  find  nothing  in  the  earlier  part  of  them 
inconsistent  with  the  latter,  —  a  kind  of  merit  which, 
in  these  days  must  from  its  very  rarity  he  of  some 
value." 

In  a  letter  to  IMr.  Willi;un  Taylor,  of  INorwich,  he 
says,  "  How  little  I  expect  from  these  elforts  1  need 
scarcely  state  to  you.  The  (juestion  of  peace  or  war  is 
long  since  gone  by.  There  may,  indeed,  he  some 
shades  of  diiference  in  o})inion  as  to  the  best  mode  of 
prosecuting  the  war;  but,  in  tlie  necessity  of  its  con- 
tinuance, all  are  agreed,  —  ministerialists,  oppositionists, 
and  reformers.  The  favourite?  doctrine  of  the  latter  is 
*  tluit  [)eace  can  onl\'  he  substantially  obtained  tliiough 
the  medium  of  reform.'  I  hold  the  converse  of  this 
to  be  true,  and  that  no  reform  is  likely  to  take  place 
while  we  have  to  contend  with  a  foreign  enemy.  Ex- 
perience, ancient  and  modern,  has  shown,  that,  in  pro- 
portion as  nations  have  been  endangered  by  war,  their 
governments  have  become  more  despotic.  This  ellect 
is  inevitable.  The  foreign  enemy  must  be  kept  out, 
and  for  this  end  the  ruling  powers  nujst  be  strongly  sup- 
ported. When  the  storm  blows  jiard,  however  the 
crew  may  quarrel,  the  first  consideration  will  be  to  take 
care  that  the  vessel  does  not  drive  on  a  rock." 

To  INIr.  \V'ilberforce  he  expressed,  in  the  followino^ 
letter,  the  painful  feelings  with  which  he  regarded  the 
continuance  of  the  war,  and  the  im])ossibility  of  giving 
a  more  pacific  tone  to  the  public  mind  :  — 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  357 

"  Accept  my  thanks  for  tlic  few  lines  wltli  wliicli  you 
were  so  i^ood  as  to  honour  me  on  the  receipt  of  a  copy 
of  my  Tracts  on  the  War.  1  know  of  no  ri;j;lit  that  I 
have  to  intrude  upon  you  with  opinions  in  which,  I  fear, 
you  cannot  agree  ;  but  1  was  desirous  you  sliould  see 
that  the  pacific  sentiments  wliich  I  liave  of  late  avowed, 
and  which  liave  drawn  down  upon  me  so  mucli  odium 
and  misrepresentation,  are  not  new  to  my  mind  ;  but  are 
the  resuk  of  a  serious  and  deliberate  conviction,  main- 
tained through  all  the  changes  and  (luctualions  of  the 
contest,  and  founded  on  a  sincere  and  earnest  desire  to 
promote  the  interests  and  ha[)piness  of  my  country.  I 
had  certaiidy,  at  times,  flatlered  myself  with  hopes  that 
these  efforts  might  have  contributed  to  much  more  im- 
portant purposes ;  but  the  obloquy  I  have  met  with  from 
some  quarters,  and  the  neglect  I  have  experienced 
from  the  community  at  large,  have  but  too  feelingly  con- 
vinced me  of  the  ineflicacy  of  my  attempts,  and  induced 
me  to  lament,  with  more  anguish  than  I  can  express, 
that  such  a  cause  has  not  fallen  into  abler  hands,  and 
been  felt  and  promoted,  as  1  conceive  it  was  entitled 
to  have  been,  by  those  enlightened  friends  of  humanity 
whose  exertions  and  whose  eloquence  could  not  have 
failed  of  success.  ]Jisappointed  in  my  expectations,  I 
have  chastised  my  mind  into  submission  ;  and  though  I 
should  be  truly  sorry  to  forfeit  the  favourable  regard  of 
many  persons  whom  T  venerate  and  esteem,  shall  con- 
sole myself  with  the  reflection,  that  what  1  have  done 
was  intended  for  the  best. 

*'  But  1  have  already  said  more  to  you  on  this  subject 
in  the  way  of  conq)laint  than  1  have  ever  said  to  any 
other  person;  and  1  will  not,  therefore,  conceal  fioni  you 
that,  in  a  general  view,  I  am  tranquillised  and  consoled 
by  the  reflection  that  the  Great  Disposer  of  events  stands 


358  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

in  need  of  no  such  feeble  aid  as  any  of  his  creatures 
can  give,  for  accomphsliing  any  purpose  which  he  may 
in  the  course  of  his  providence  see  projier  to  carry  into 
effect ;  and  that,  therefore,  to  lament  the  failure  of  our 
individual  efforts  is  equally  wicked  and  presumptuous." 

In  the  same  tone  of  depression,  or  rather  of  resigna- 
tion to  evils  which  he  had  no  power  to  remove,  he  ad- 
dressed Sir  Philip  Francis,  from  whom  he  received  the 
following  answer  :  — 

"  I  am  not  surprised  at  your  giving  up  all  hope  of  the 
country,  much  less  at  your  intention  to  withdraw  your- 
self from  political  discussion.  An  author  whom  I  greatly 
respect  has  told  me  '  that  in  all  ages  the  rage  of  popular 
violence  has  been  principally  directed  against  the  best 
friends  and  benefactors  of  mankind.'  So,  if  you  are  fortu- 
nate enough  to  escape  unpunished  from  the  public  service, 
you  must  be  satisfied  with  impunity,  and  consider  it  as  a 
reward.  There  may,  probably,  be  an  exception  in  your 
favour,  but  the  general  rules  of  human  justice  are 
against  you.  The  only  traveller  I  know  of,  whose 
veracity  is  not  to  be  suspected,  informs  us  that,  in  the 
island  of  Glubdubdrib,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  con- 
versing with  the  spirits  of  the  dead  ;  and  he  says,  that 
*  having  read  of  some  great  services  done  to  princes  and 
states,  he  desired  to  see  the  persons  by  whom  those  ser- 
vices were  performed.  On  enquiry,  he  was  told  that 
their  names  were  to  be  found  on  no  record,  except  a 
few  of  them  whom  history  hath  represented  as  the  vilest 
rogues  and  traitors.  As  to  the  rest,  he  had  never  once 
heard  of  them.  They  all  appeared  with  dejected  looks, 
and  in  tlie  meanest  habit ;  most  of  them  telling  him  they 
died  in  })overty  and  disgrace,  and  the  rest  of  them  on 
a  scaffold  or  a  gibbet.'  Nevertlieless,  if  you  believe,  as 
I  do,  that  great  faculties  are  given  in  trust,  and  that  duty 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  359 

may  survive    hope,    I    cannot  allow    you   to  quit   your 
station.     The    very  worst    of  all  the    symptoms  in  the 
present  case,  is  the  universal  indifference  of  the  country 
to  the    dangers  that    surround   it.     Something   must  be 
done  to  rouse  the  people  and  bring  them  to  their  senses ; 
and  I,  for  one,  shall  look  to  you  for  some  great  contri- 
bution   to    that    service.       While    I    am    here    at    Lord 
Thanet's,  I  shall  read   and  study  all  your  tracts  again. 
You  cannot  give  me  wealth  or  power ;  but  you  can,  and 
shall,  give    instruction.     I  will  not  suffer  you  to  forget 
me,  if  I  can  help  it.     I  would  rather  have  accompanied 
Charles  Fox  to  his   grave,  and  into  it,  egenus   et  exul 
uterqiie,   than   have  been  witness  to  what  I  heard  and 
saw  in  the  last  six  months  of  his  life.     He  missed  the 
moment — e  curru    descendens    Teutonico.      He  might 
have  commanded,  as   you  will  do,   his  own  Euthanasia. 
To  my  knowledge,  more  than  twenty  years  of  his  life 
were  heroic.     Farewell,  dear  sir ;   do  not  yet  despair  of 
the  Republic." 

While  the  collection  of  tracts  on  the  war  was  in  the 
press,  an  address  to  the  King  was  moved  by  Earl  Grey 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  subject  of  the  war,  which 
left  little  hope  of  peace  from  the  exertions  of  any  party 
in  this  country.     The  advocates  of  peace  had  gradually 
deserted  her  ranks,  till  at  length  Lord  Liverpool  triumph- 
antly declared,  that  whatever  difference  of  opinion  for- 
merly existed  on    the  subject  of  the  war,  he  believed, 
amongst  all  sober  and  rational  men,  but  little  contrariety 
of  sentiment  remained.     Some  few  there  were,  however, 
who  despising  these  imputations,  still   continued  faithful 
to  their  principles,  and  amongst  these   Mr.  Roscoe  was 
conspicuous.     In  Parliament  Mr.  Whitbread,  with  hon- 
ourable consistency,  still  raised  his  voice  in  the  cause  he 
had  so  long  and  so  ably  supported.     "  I  much  fear,"  he 


360  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

says  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Roscoe  on  the  publication  of  his 
Collection  of  Tracts,  "  that  the  friends  of  peace  are 
daily  diminishing,  and  that  the  advocates  for  war  are 
gaining  ]iroselytes.  However  small  the  band,  I  continue 
fii-mly  attached  to  the  standard,  and  am  happy  to  have 
this  additional  proof  that  I  have  so  able  an  associate." 

The  motion  of  Lord  Grey  occasioned  the  deepest  feel- 
ino^s  of  reiTret  in  the  mind  of  Mr.  Roscoe.  He  saw 
those  to  whom  alone  he  could  look  for  support,  yielding 
to  the  torrent  which  he  had  vainly  endeavoured  to  stem ; 
yet  even  this  circumstance  did  not  lead  him  to  forego 
his  own  individual  efforts  in  the  cause  he  loved.  Anxious 
to  counteract,  as  far  as  lay  in  his  own  power,  the  effect 
of  Lord  Grey's  motion,  he  immediately  sent  to  press  a 
short  pamphlet,  to  which  he  gave  the  title  of  ''  Brief 
Observations  on  the  Address  to  his  Majesty,  proposed 
by  Earl  Grey,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  13th  June,  1810," 
which  he  printed  also  at  the  conclusion  of  his  Tracts  on 
the  War.  In  this  publication  he  endeavours  to  show, 
that  so  far  from  peace  being  rendered  less  desirable,  the 
progress  of  the  w^ar  had  demonstrated  the  still  greater 
necessity  of  it,  and  he  exposes  the  unreasonableness  of 
those  who  were  desirous  of  persisting  in  the  war,  lest 
France  should  take  advantage  of  an  interval  of  peace  to 
increase  her  resources  and  augment  her  power.  The 
low-minded  jealousy  which  leads  one  nation  to  dread  the 
prosperity  of  another  is  thus  justly  reprobated  :  — 

"  The  Creator  of  the  universe  has  not  so  disposed  his 
works  that  the  prosperity  or  aggrandisement  of  one  state 
must  necessarily  imply  the  debasement  or  misfortune  of 
another ;  and  the  two  great  communities  of  Great  Britain 
and  France  are  not  less  calculated  to  assist  each  other 
in  the  cause  of  national  honour  and  felicity,  tlian  they 
are    to    oppose    each   other   by  arms    and  violence.     It 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  361 

must,  however,  unhappily  be  admitted,  that  so  fortunate 
a  result  must  be  the  offspring  of  more  generous  senti- 
ments and  more  enhghtened  views,  than  are  at  present 
to  be  expected  from  the  recent  conduct  of  either  of  those 
two  powerful  countries;  and  that  until  such  an  event 
takes  place,  it  will  be  incumbent  on  us,  by  every  fair 
and  justifiable  effort,  to  maintain  ourselves  upon  an 
equality  at  least  with  our  rival  state  ;  but  it  would  be  no 
less  criminal  than  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose,  that 
the  mere  superiority  of  one  state  is  a  sufficient  ground  for 
the  permanent  hostility  of  another.  In  the  community 
of  nations  as  in  that  of  individuals,  Providence  has  de- 
termined that  there  shall  be  degrees  of  pre-eminence ; 
and  it  is  no  more  justifiable  to  attack  a  nation  by  war, 
on  account  only  of  its  superior  strength  or  greatness, 
than  it  would  be  in  private  life  to  assassinate  every  person 
of  higher  rank  than  ourselves.  It  is  only  by  industry, 
by  integrity,  by  knowledge,  by  the  encouragement  of 
enlarged  and  virtuous  sentiments,  by  the  cultivation  of 
the  human  mind  in  every  department  of  science  and  of 
art,  that  we  ought  to  contend  for  superiority  over  others. 
It  is  by  such  contests  only  that  the  human  race  can  be 
effectually  improved,  and  it  is  these  alone  that  counter- 
act the  calamities  which  the  brutal  struggles  of  physical 
strength  have  hitherto  inflicted  upon  mankind." 

Upon  the  scheme  of  a  defensive  and  protracted  war- 
fare, to  which  Lord  Grey  appeared  to  be  favourable,  Mr. 
Roscoe  observes,  "  That  war,  under  every  form,  is  an 
evil  greatly  to  be  deprecated  will  readily  be  allowed : 
but  when  the  passions  are  irritated  by  wrongs,  and  in- 
flamed by  resentment;  when  to  these  are  superadded 
the  love  of  glory  and  the  thirst  of  revenge,  we  feel,  from 
the  sentiments  of  our  common  nature,  a  sympathy  with 
those  who  engage  in  the  contest,  which,  in  victory,  ele- 

VOL.    I.  31 


362  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

vates  and  expands,  and  even  amidst  defeat  and  slaughter, 
socthes  and  consoles  the  mind :  but  when  these  incentives 
are  withdrawn ;  when  the  courage  and  ardour  of  the 
soldier  are  extinguished  for  a  cold,  calculating,  and  inex- 
tinguishable hatred ;  when  valour  and  enterprise,  the 
shock  of  armies  and  the  tented  field,  are  no  more,  and 
a  nation  of  warriors  devotes  itself  to  lie  in  wait  for  op- 
portunities to  attack  the  enemy  with  advantage,  and  to 
protract  the  calamities  of  war,  —  we  sicken  at  the  cheer- 
less and  deathlike  prospect,  and  feel  no  emotions  but 
those  of  horror  and  disgust. 

"  From  the  infirmities  of  our  nature,  war,  as  an  ulti- 
mate appeal,  is  at  times  inevitable  ;  but  the  common 
interest  and  the  common  consent  of  mankind  require  that 
the  struggle  should  be  speedy  and  decisive,  and  that  the 
miseries  of  those  who  suffer  by  its  consequences,  with- 
out being  partakers  in  its  guilt,  should  not  be  unnecessa- 
rily prolonged.  The  tlumder  may  roll,  and  the  bolt  may 
fall ;  but  when  the  storm  is  passed,  let  us  hope  once 
more  to  see  the  atmosphere  clear,  and  to  enjoy  the 
brightness  of  day.  The  calamities  of  the  physical  world 
are  temporary.  Eartliquakes,  plagues,  and  tempests 
have  their  season  ;  but  a  protracted  warfare  is  a  perpetual 
earthquake,  a  perpetual  pestilence,  a  perpetual  storm  ; 
and  to  propose  to  any  people  the  adoption  of  such  a  sys- 
tem, is  to  propose  that  they  should  resolve,  not  only  to 
live  in  sorrow,  in  wretchedness,  and  in  peril  tliemselves, 
but  to  entail  the  same  calamities  on  their  descendants." 

Such  were  the  sentiments  which  Mr.  Roscoe  wished 
to  substitute  for  the  violent,  unjust,  and  destructive  max- 
ims, by  which,  at  that  time,  the  Government  of  this 
country  were  swayed.  But  these  sentiments,  as  he 
himself  truly  said,  were  given  to  the  winds  ;  and  the  re- 
sources of  the  country  were  taxed  to  their  utmost  to 
support  the  sanguinary  struggle. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  363 

In   transmitting   this    pamphlet  to  Lord   Erskine,  he 
accompanied  it  with  the  following  letter :  — 

"The  decided  opposition  which  your  Lordship  has 
uniformly  shown  to  the  war  with  France,  from  its  un- 
happy commencement  in  1793  to  the  present  time,  and 
the  great  and  patriotic  efforts  which  you  have  repeatedly 
made  to  terminate  so  disastrous  a  contest,  induce  me  to 
intrude  upon  you  with  a  short  publication,  in  reply  to 
such  part  of  Earl  Grey's  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
on  the  13th  June  last,  as  relates  to  the  subject  of  peace. 

"  Your  Lordship  will  readily  believe  that  it  is  not 
without  great  regret  that  I  have  undertaken  thus  publicly 
to  controvert  the  opinions  of  one  whom  I  so  highly  re- 
spect as  Earl  Grey,  and  that  in  this  instance  I  fully 
participate  in  the  feelings  expressed  by  your  Lordship  on 
the  debate  ;  but  I  know  your  Lordship  would  be  the 
last  man  to  suppose  that  any  motives  of  this  nature  ought 
to  interfere  with  that  imperative  duty,  which  not  only 
authorises  but  commands  every  individual,  who  con- 
ceives that  he  has  any  thing  to  advance  that  may  serve 
the  interests  of  his  country,  to  state  it  freely  and  fully, 
without  regard  either  to  enmity  or  favour,  and  regulated 
only  by  the  rules  of  decorum  and  the  limits  of  the  law. 

"  At  the  time  the  debate  took  place,  I  had  collected 
together  a  few  tracts  which  I  had  pubhshed  at  different 
times,  from  the  year  1793,  on  the  subject  of  the  war,  and 
reprinted  them  in  one  octavo  volume,  which  was  just 
ready  for  publication,  when  the  unexpected  avowal  of 
Lord  Grey's  sentiments,  including  the  express  assent  of 
Lord  Grey  in  favour  of  the  prosecution  of  an  indefinite 
war,  deprived  me  of  the  hope  of  producing  the  slightest 
effect  upon  the  public  by  any  arguments  which  had  been 
before  advanced.  I  therefore  thought  it  incumbent  on 
me  to  obviate,  as  far  as  was  in  my  power,  any  thing  that 


364  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

might  appear  like  new  reasons  for  tlie  continuance  of 
hostilities  ;  and  if  in  this  I  have  not  heen  able  to  succeed, 
I  am  well  convinced  it  is  not  because  of  the  validity 
of  such  reasons,  but  of  the  inability  of  their  opposer." 

The  i)ublic  mind  had  become  averse  to  the  idea  of 
peace,  and  Mr.  Roscoe  had  to  regret  the  little  effect 
which  his  pamphlet  appeared  to  produce,  —  a  circum- 
stance which  he  has  touched  upon  in  the  following  letter 
to  Dr.  Aikin  :  ■ — 

"  How  I  can  have  delayed  so  long  to  thank  you  for 
your  last  kind  letter,  appears  to  me  perfectly  unaccount- 
able.    It  is  natural  in  sickness  to  reflect   on    our  sins, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  ten  days'  confinement,  I  vowed  to 
St.  Cosmus  and  St.  Damienus,  that  as  soon  as  I  was  able 
to  hold  a  pen  I  would   employ  it  in  writing  to  you,  and 
telling  you  how  much  I  was  gratified  in  finding  that  the 
observations  I  had  ventured  to  publish  on  Lord  Grey's 
speech  coincided  so  nearly  with  your  own  sentiments. 
This  vow  I  now  perform,  and  assure  you  most  sincerely, 
that  nothing  could  have  been  more  gratifying  to  me  than 
to  find  my  statements  approved  by  one  who  can  look 
with  an  impartial  eye,  not  only  on  the  politics  and  par- 
ties of  one  country,  but  on  the  relative  situation,  conduct, 
and  pretensions  of  all.     It  is  to  such  critics  alone  that  I 
confess  1  should  wish  to  appeal ;  but,  as  they  are  of  rare 
occurrence,  I  must  not  be  surprised  that  this  last  effort 
should  share  the  fate  of  all  the  rest  of  the  same  nature, 
and  should  be  equally  disregarded  by  those  who  arc  in 
and  those  who  are  out  of  office  ;  by  the  friends  of  cor- 
ruption and  the  friends  of  reform  ;  all  of  whom  labour  on 
in  their  purblind  occupations  with  as  obstinate  a  bliiuhiess 
to  all  general  views,  as  if  they  had  no  more  concern  with 
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  cared  no  more  for  tlie  destruc- 
tion of  our  countrymen  and   the  desolation  of  Europe, 
than  they  would  for  a  war  in  the  interior  of  Africa." 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  365 

From  Sir  Samuel  Romilly,  to  whom  he  had  presented 
a  copy  of  his  "  Observations,"  he  received  the  follow- 
ing letter  :  — 

"  I  return  you  many  thanks  for  your  '  Observations  on 
Lord  Grey's  Address.'  I  have  read  them  with  the 
greatest  interest.  To  all  your  general  reasonings  I  en- 
tirely agree  ;  and  I  have  been  very  much  struck  with 
the  great  force  and  irresistible  eloquence  of  the  conclud- 
ing passages.  I  cannot,  however,  but  confess  to  you, 
that  the  present  state  of  Spain  appears  to  me  to  throw 
very  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  making  an  immediate 
peace.  I  agree  that  there  seems  very  little  prospect  of 
the  Spaniards  succeeding  ultimately  against  their  oppres- 
sors ;  but  as  long  as  there  is  a  possibility  of  their  success, 
I  cannot  think  that  we  ought,  by  abandoning  them,  to 
seal  their  doom.*  It  is  very  true,  that  in  an  answer  to 
Lord  Grey,  it  was  by  no  means  necessary  to  discuss  this 
difficulty,  but  I  own  I  should  have  been  extremely  glad 
to  have  seen  how  you  had  considered  it. 

"  I  am  very  highly  gratified  by  the  kind  things  you 
say  of  me,  and  of  the  late  unsuccessful  attempts  I  have 
made  to  introduce  some  improvements  into  our  criminal 
law.  I  greatly  lament  that  they  cannot  have  your  pow- 
erful support  in  parliament,  and  that  the  distance  we  are 
removed  from  each  other  leaves  me  so  little  opportunity 
of  cultivating  your  friendship,  on  which  I  shall  always 
set  the  highest    value." 

With  this  tract  terminated  Mr.  Roscoe's  publications 
against  the  war,  which  had  appeared  at  intervals,  during 
the  course  of  nearly  twenty  years.  The  motives  by 
which  he  had  been  actuated  in  these  long-continued  en- 


*  Mr.  Roscoe's  sentiments  on  this  question  have  been  stated  in  a 
previous  page.  ^ 

31* 


366  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

deavours  to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood,  were  founded 
not  only  upon  principles  of  political  expediency,  but  upon 
more  extended  views  of  human  conduct.  He  regarded 
war  as  one  of  the  worst  of  human  evils,  not  only  incon- 
sistent with  the  interests  of  mankind,  but  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  those  Christian  precepts  by  which  the  nations 
of  Europe  profess  to  be  governed.  Yet  the  peace  which 
was  the  ardent  object  of  IVIr.  Roscoe's  wishes,  was  far 
from  being  the  peace  which  is  coveted  by  the  timid  or 
the  servile  :  it  was  the  peace  which  arises  from  the  re- 
moval, by  the  exercise  of  reason  and  of  justice,  of  all  the 
causes  of  contention  —  the  peace  which  coexists  with 
freedom,  with  honour,  and  with  virtue. 

In  a  short  paper,  written  apparently  about  the  year 
1790,  to  which  IMr.  Roscoe  had  given  the  form  of  a 
sermon,  and  prefixed  the  text  of  "  Blessed  are  the 
peace-makers,"  he  has  defined  his  own  idea  of  those 
qualities  in  which  the  character  of  a  peace-maker  con- 
sists. This  discourse,  never  intended  to  meet  the  public 
eye,  exhibits  so  forcibly  and  clearly  the  principles  which 
were  the  invisible  spring  of  the  unyielding  and  undaunted 
perseverance,  and  even  pertinacity,  with  which,  in  de- 
spite of  all  opposition  and  obloquy,  he  continued  to  hold 
and  assert  his  views  on  the  subject  of  the  war,  that  the 
following  extracts  will  perhaps  not  be  thought  misplaced. 

^'  Tliat  the  peace-maker  is  in  a  high  degree  acceptable 
to  the  Supreme  Being,  is  evident  from  the  positive  as- 
surance of  our  Saviour  ;  but,  in  endeavouring  to  obtain 
this  honourable  distinction,  it  is  indispensably  requisite 
that  we  should  form  proper  notions  of  the  character  and 
oflicc  of  a  peace-maker,  for  until  we  know  its  proper 
scope  and  aim,  our  endeavours  to  attain  it  will  be  to  no 
purpose.  In  all  our  concerns  we  should  take  care  tliat 
we  distinguish  the  mark  before  we  draw  the  bow,  and  we 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE.  367 

shall  then  be  sure  our  exertions,  be  they  what  they  may, 
are  not  misdh'ected. 

"  Accustomed  as  we  are  to  confine  our  views  to  the 
little  circle  that  surrounds  us,  we  often  lose,  or,  at  least, 
weaken,  the  spirit  and  purport  of  the  moral  precepts  of 
our  Saviour.  Instead  of  taking  them  in  the  full  extent 
in  which  he  undoubtedly  meant  that  they  should  be  un- 
derstood, we  childishly  apply  them  to  trivial  purposes 
and  occasions.  It  is  thus  that  the  term  of  Charity,  that 
prime  spring  of  moral  virtue,  which  inculcates  forbear- 
ance, good-will,  benevolence,  and  kindness  to  all  the 
race  of  man,  is  often  confined  to  mere  pecuniary  assist- 
ance, or  the  giving  of  a  trivial  alms  ;  but  envy,  resent- 
ment, haughtiness,  and  pride,  are  as  inconsistent  with 
true  charity  as  avarice  itself.  In  like  manner,  when  we 
speak  of  the  Peace-maker,  we  are  apt  to  consider  him 
as  one  who  bestows  his  time  and  attention  in  healing  the 
little  breaches  that,  in  the  common  intercourse  of  life, 
may  arise  between  those  around  him.  But  though  this 
be,  in  some  cases,  a  very  meritorious  employment,  it  is 
far  short  of  that  exalted  virtue  which  has  entitled  its 
possessor  to  the  appellation  of  blessed,  from  the  mouth 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us,  then,  endeavour  to  extend  our 
views  beyond  these  narrow  limits,  and  to  acquire  more 
suitable  notions  of  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the 
character  which  is  here  recommended  to  our  attention. 

"  Nothinor  can  be  more  clear,  than  that  he  who  em- 
ploys  his  time  and  labour  in  reconciling  those  who  are  at 
variance,  without  removing  the  cause  of  contention,  has 
ill  performed  the  office  he  undertook,  —  such  reconcilia- 
tions, however  sincere  they  may  be  in  appearance,  are 
seldom  of  long  continuance.  To  remove,  then,  if  it 
were  possible,  all  causes  of  contention  from  the  face  of 
the  earth,  is  the  great  office  of  a  peace-maker.     And 


368  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

tlioui:li  this  will  not  be  in  the  power  of  ««?/ individual  ; 
yet  it  is  only  by  attending  to  this  view  of  his  duty,  that 
he  will  be  able  to  do  any  considerable  portion  of  that 
great  good.  Nay,  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  very  possible, 
that  instead  of  being  of  service  to  his  fellow-creatures 
vpon  tlic  whole,  he  may,  notwithstanding  the  sincerity 
of  his  endeavours,  be  doing  them,  upon  some  occasions, 
an  essential  injury.  To  explain  more  fully  this  impor- 
tant point,  let  me  suppose  that  a  disagreement  has  arisen 
in  consequence  of  some  civil  or  political  law  or  regula- 
tion, that  is  evidently  vague,  imperfect,  severe,  or  unjust. 
It  may  seem  the  part  of  a  peace-maker  to  accommodate, 
to  soothe,  and  to  suppress  the  differences  to  which  such 
a  law  may  have  given  rise,  and  to  unite  in  harmony  the 
discordant  parties.  But  is  this  attacking  the  evil  at  its 
root  ?  Had  the  mediator  a  proper  idea  of  his  office,  he 
would  endeavour  not  only  to  reconcile  the  particular 
quarrel  to  which  he  was  a  witness  but  to  have  the  law  in 
question  amended,  explained,  or  abrogated ;  so  as  to 
prevent,  in  future,  similar  dissensions.  Omitting  this,  he 
has  only  cut  off  a  shoot  from  a  tree  that  will  send  out 
a  hundred  others  ;  and  so  far  from  being  of  service  to 
mankind,  has,  perhaps,  prolonged  the  abuse,  by  conceal- 
ing from  the  eye  of  the  ^vorld  its  hateful  effects. 

"  Who,  then,  is  the  true  peace-maker  ?  Not  he  who, 
sitting  in  voluptuous  apathy,  exclaims  against  every  at- 
tempt to  improve  society,  and  remove  tlie  causes  of 
contention,  as  an  infringement  on  the  doctrines  of  ])eace. 
Not  he  whose  mild  and  timid  disposition  leads  him  to 
soften,  to  soothe,  and  to  accommodate  the  dissensions 
that  may  sometimes  occur,  by  prevailing  on  the  unjust 
man  to  relax  his  harsh  pretensions,  or  on  the  oppressed 
to  submit  to  his  further  oppression. 

"  These  are  neither  peace-makers,  nor  the  true  friends 
of  peace. 


LIFE     OF     WILLIAM    ROSCOE.  369 

"  But,  blessed  is  the  man  who,  with  undeviating  recti- 
tude, endeavours  to  procure  for  every  one  that  to  which 
he  is  justly  and  indisputably  entitled  ;  who,  instead  of 
reconcilino-  the  master  to  the  slave,  dissolves  the  odious 
relation  ;  who,  instead  of  teaching  to  one  sect  of  religion, 
principles  of  toleration,  and  inculcating  on  others  a  facti- 
tious gratitude,  contends  for  an  universal  liberty  of  senti- 
ment ;  who,  in  a  nation  whose  high  privileges  are  reserved 
to  one,  class  of  its  inhabitants  and  refused  to  others, 
instead  of  exhorting  the  injured  to  acquiesce  in  their 
deprivations,  adopts  every  firm  and  manly  method  of 
abolishing  such  absurd  distinctions,  and  thereby  placing 
all  around  him  upon  a  just  and  equal  footing  ;  and  for 
ever  removes  those  degrading,  wicked,  and  preposter- 
ous regulations  which  have  always  been  the  disgrace  of 
society,  and  will  never  cease  to  occasion  hatred,  jeal- 
ousy, and  contention,  so  long  as  they  are  allowed  to 
exist." 

'^  The  peace  recommended  in  the  text  is  not  the  peace 
of  tyranny  and  subjection,  it  is  the  peace  of  equality  and 
brotherhood.  The  despot  may  hold  in  awe  his  trembling 
slaves,  who  may  quietly  submit  to  his  imperious  com- 
mands ;  but  the  peace-maker,  whom  our  text  pronounces 
blessed,  will  neither  be  found  in  him  who  orders  nor  in 
those  who  obey.  Let  him,  then,  who  aims  at  the  glori- 
ous distinction,  begin  by  divesting  himself  of  his  unjust 
pretensions,  and  removing  from  himself  the  causes  of 
offence  ;  let  him  be  as  willing  to  impart  as  he  is  to  re- 
ceive ;  and  when  he  has  placed  himself  on  a  fair  equality 
with  those  around  him,  he  will  then  have  proceeded  so 
far  towards  meriting  the  appellation  of  a  peace-maker,  as 
not  to  be  a  maker  of  dissensions.  He  will  have  attained, 
at  least,  a  degree  of  negative  virtue  that  must,  in  its 
nature,  precede  any  positive  acquirements.     And  let  me 


370  LIFE     OF     WILLIAM     ROSCOE. 

be  allowed  to  remark,  that  it  is  on  the  exercise  of  this 
disposition,  that  every  noble  and  generous  effort,  every 
expectation  of  public  and  private  happiness,  depends. 
So  much,  then,  for  the  character  of  a  peace-maker,  as  it 
is  connected  with  individual  conduct ;  and  if  the  same 
justice  and  forbearance  were  practised  by  all,  we  should 
arrive  at  that  happy  period  when  we  should  experience 
*  peace  on  earth,  and  good-will  to  men.' 

*'  But,  alas !  the  admonitions  of  reason  are  too  ineffec- 
tual to  control  the  passions  of  mankind,  by  which  they 
are  continually  prompted  to  seize  with  avidity  every 
opportunity  of  personal  aggrandisement  and  selfish  grati- 
fication. Here,  then,  a  wider  field  is  opened  for  the 
exertions  of  the  virtuous  and  the  just.  And  it  is  only 
in  performing  their  part  with  firmness,  that  they  can 
entitle  themselves  to  the  full  reward  that  attends  on  the 
promoters  of  peace,  and  the  friends  of  human  kind. 
Raise,  then,  thy  views,  thou  who  aspirest  to  this  dignified 
character,  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  private  life  ;  and 
contemplate,  as  far  as  is  allowed  to  mortal  faculties,  the 
views  and  dispensations  of  Providence.  There  wilt  thou 
discover  that  the  intention  of  the  great  Creator  of  all,  is 
the  happiness  of  all  His  creatures  ;  and  thou  wilt  thence 
feel  it  thy  most  important  duty  to  concur,  as  far  as  lies 
in  thy  power,  in  promoting  that  beneficent  end." 


END    OF    THE    FIRST    VOLUME. 


CAMBRIDGE: 

CHARLES   FOLSOM,   PRINTER  TO   THE   UNIVERSITY. 


COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY 

I'liis  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing, 
as  provided  by  the  rules  of  the  Library  or  by  special  ar- 
rangement with  the  Librarian  in  charge. 


DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

20».- 

1 

C28'63C)MSO 

' 

1 

COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


II 


031 


5021653 


R 


^ 

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